Hyderabad: Ram Gopal Varma, renowned for films like Satya, Company, and Sarkar, recently shared his views on the trend of making mythological films in India. Without a hint of hesitation, he called it "dangerous" to delve into such stories.
According to him, while these films might have worked in the past, their chances of success today are slim, as they often stir up controversy. In an interview with a webloid, Varma also suggested an alternative approach to presenting such films to avoid religious disputes.
When asked about the upcoming Ramayan trilogy featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and other mythological projects, Varma said, "It’s very dangerous to make films on mythological stories. There are two reasons for this–the stories which are known to people and you try to make it different, it can have a reverse effect. You can’t try this in our country because people worship them."
He added that times have changed since the days when Babubhai Mistry's Sampurana Ramayana and NT Rama Rao’s mythological films were popular. "Today, they have reached a status of reverence. Maybe there was not so much polarisation or social media constantly challenging with people’s interpretation."
Varma pointed to the example of Om Raut's Adipurush, which faced heavy criticism, and remarked, "If you look at Adipurush, it was more about Saif Ali Khan’s look and Hanuman’s look. Because of all this constant opiniated criticism, it is very dangerous to take topics from that shelf. Nevertheless, these filmmakers are putting their efforts and I wish them all the best."
The interviewer then mentioned that filmmakers are targeting a younger audience who might not be familiar with these mythological tales. To this, Varma responded that if that’s the case, the film should not be branded as Ramayana.
"My point is why not make a new story and and not call it Ramayana? If you sell Adipurush as a Prabhas film, people will look at it differently, but if I am told this is Ramayana, I will look at it differently. Why touch a sensitive topic than showing it as a completely new thing and avoiding the fight against the onslaught of negativity?" - Ram Gopal Varma
Adipurush received significant criticism after its release for its dialogues and visual effects. The makers made changes to the dialogues following the backlash, but by then, the damage was already done.
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