Ram Gopal Varma on KSD : Appalraju is at his usual best – smart, funny and whacky at the same time. His next film, Katha Screenplay Darsakathvam: Appalaraju is going to release on February 18. Earlier today he interacted with the media where he spoke a lot about his film, the way he works and why you can’t make films for everyone. Here are some excerpts from the interview.
We hear that KSD Appalaraju is a satire on how film industry functions, but it’s in a way the absolute truth of how the industry functions, isn’t it?
I wouldn’t say it’s a satire. You can call it a situational comedy, but even then, all the characters are serious in their own way. Everyone has their own agenda here. The point of view of each character is as real as Appalaraju and they are all right in their own way. And I am not taking sides with Appalaraju either. You can’t find fault with a producer who believes that a commercial element will work in favour of the film at box office.
Do films usually turn out the way you want them to? Or do you let them take their own course??
It works in two ways. A film is a series of decisions that you take over a long period of time. And right from the time when an idea strikes you till the product is complete, you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Usually, the director is the last person to know all this because he’s involved in everything. All we can do is to just go by the instincts.
You shoot your films really fast!
I don’t shoot films fast; it’s others who are so slow. If you look at cinema all over the world, we (Telugu filmmakers) take the maximum time to shoot a film. Even a film like Gladiator was shot in 42 days.
Do the actors have time to experiment at all when they try to adjust to your speed?
Actors are always ready. If there’s any delay, it’s usually the cameraman, because he has to position the camera at appropriate angles, change lenses etc. And second could be because the director has no clarity of what he wants to do or maybe the script isn’t ready. But typically, it’s the cameraman.
You keep coming up with a new idea every other day. Do you keep a track of what you are working on? Are you very impulsive by nature?
I keep thinking all the time. If I think of 50-60 ideas, you actually get to know only 2-3 of them. But then, I have to see what the practical problems are, if the project is viable or not before I take it forward. In case of Dongala Mutha, I got the idea one afternoon at 4:00 PM and I called by Ravi Teja at 5:30 and by 6:30 PM we were ready to announce the film!
Emotional drama Vs Technology – how do you balance the two?
Technology has got nothing to do with content of the film. It can only help you in narrating your stories, but it can’t enhance your content. Whichever way you look at it, they are two different functions. Technology can only help you to cut down on time and finances. For my next film I’m using five Cannon 5D digital cinema cameras to cut down the production costs. It’s easy to manoeuvre because of its compact nature and we completely shot it in natural light in the regular shifts.
You have never bothered about criticism. Will you be surprised if someone comes up to you to tell that he absolutely loved your film? In a way, you are not making films for people. Do you expect them to like what you do?
You can’t generalize the audience. They are all so different in their own ways! For example, I have no idea what sort of films you like. The only thing I can do is to make the kind of films I like, which is what I mean when I say, “I make films for myself”! Now, out of desperation I can claim that I’m making a film which the entire family can watch. How can you make a film for the entire family? That’s the biggest joke in the world! But what actually happens is that, the husband would be ogling at the heroine, the mother would love the heroine’s saris; perhaps the kids would be so bored that they would end up cribbing about the whole film! There’s no concept of families, all are individuals. To each their own!
What are your future projects?
After Dongala Mutha, I’m starting Bezawada Rowdilu in March. And then I’ll start my bilingual film Department with Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishekh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt in May. Perhaps in August, I will start my action-adventure, visual effects loaded film ‘Amma’. It’s based on a treasure hunt.
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