Ram Gopal Varma’s debut movie Shiva was one film that inspired a generation of directors. Most of the new directors debuted in 90s were heavily influenced by RGV. Some of them were his direct assistants but many other are “Ekalavya” disciples. Even the directors from other “schools” also had influence of RGV. For example director V V Vinayak who debuted with movie “Aadi” did not come from RGV School but in an interview revealed that he always wanted to make a film that has story like K. Raghavendra Rao film and treatment like RGV film. This was just one example.
RGV was the one who taught Indian makers how to frighten audience with camera, without any artistes on screen. Until his film RAATRI(RAAT), Telugu horror films all have women with ugly make-up and white sarees portraying the role of a ghosts. Also,he was the one who introduced how to show violence with the movements of steady camera without showing any artistes on screen. Scene involving killing of artist Sudhakar in Shiva was best example for that. He taught the Telugu filmmakers “how to tell the story with camera” instead of with hundreds of dialogues uttered by characters . He changed almost everything – the way characters speak, the way back ground music is done, the way shot is made – and almost everything. He is one of those few directors who started from south India to Bollywood and made a name for himself. When “Satya” movie was released in 1998, one of the leading English media reviewed as- “The way director captured Mumbai on screen makes one doubt whether this director is born and brought up in Mumbai”. Bollywood directors like Anurag Kashyap made debut as screenplay writer with RGV films. To summarize in one line, his influence was felt all over India.
But all this is past by now. In last one decade, he is just churning out duds after duds. When he remade sholay with the title “AAG“, audience gave a counter slogans like “Theater se bhaag”. People felt he must have lost his brains after watching movies like ‘Ice cream’. In last few years, people stopped caring for his movies, and people don’t even know when his movies were releasing. Flops and hits are common, but what made one surprise is RGV changing the track and focusing on making web-series like “Guns and thighs“, Kadapa and Porn films. One doubts whether RGV is shifting his focus to digital media just because he doesn’t have enough creative juices to make a successful main stream film. Moreover, the way he is promoting his latest porn film – GST and charging it on “Pay per view” mode. Should he stoop to that level? is the question ringing in the minds of his erstwhile fans. He is aggressively promoting this film on mainstream TV channels on prime time.
RGV expressed many times in the past that he can’t make films based on others expectations but he can make movies only on scripts that excite him. However, fans of RGV expect him to push the envelope and make much better movies and movies that really match his capabilities. But seems RGV now has chosen an easy and lazy path, and focusing more on getting instant cheap publicity to make quick bucks rather than doing some real hard work and upgrading himself. With his perverted intelligence, he may brush off those callers and well-wishers in TV debates but undeniable fact is he is now more or less a youtube short porn-film maker.
