Love him or hate him you can’t just ignore Ram Gopal Varma. The maverick director-producer has a mind of his own and seldom mines his words to put forth his viewpoints. Many-a-times he puts his foot in his mouth and offends netizens, his fans and cinema lovers alike either with his words or his films. However, the fact is that RGV, as he is popularly called, is one of the most prolific filmmakers we have around and has given some of the finest gems of Indian cinema.
Before he succumbed to making mindless gibberish and several no-horror evoking films, he had the badge of being one of the most revered directors. He is famous for mentoring several renowned filmmakers and actors including Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Vivek Oberoi, Urmila Matondkar, Sriram Raghavan, Abhishek Bachchan etc. However, he is also infamous for his myriad flops as well. RGV has a different style of shooting that remains a trademark and is probably the only director who experiments with his style of filmmaking in India. On his 58th birthday, today here’s a list of his iconic films that are a must-watch.
Shiva
Shiva is the remake of Varma’s debut Telugu film Siva. The film was inspired by real-life and is based on how goons work with politicians to create a mess in colleges. Both the Hindi and the Telugu version featured Nagarjuna in the lead and was a roaring hit at the box office. The music of the film was another reason for it to become a fabulous hit at the box office. The film was included in CNN-IBN's list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.
Raat
Indian films are not exactly known for their horror element. However, RGV’s Raat is in a league of its own. Inspired by cult Hollywood classic The Exorcist, Raat is a story of a family that moves to a new house wherein their daughter gets possessed which leads them to seek help from a priest to restore everything back to normal. Raat featured Revathy in the lead and is perhaps the only Indian film that actually elicits some spine chilling horror. It was a welcome break from the Ramsay Brother’s B-grade horror films of the 80s and 90s.
Rangeela
Rangeela is a benchmark film as it changed the lives of many. Urmila Matondkar who played the lead became an overnight sensation. The film proved to be a turning point in Aamir Khan’s career as well and got him the ‘perfectionist’ tag. Fashion designer Manish Malhotra received instant fame and the amazing dance sequences led by choreographers Ahmed Khan and Saroj Khan got them immense acclaim. AR Rahman’s music in Rangeela was highly successful and is still popular. It was his Hindhi debut film as well. The romantic comedy film was the best film of 1995 and received commercial as well as critical acclaim. The film won seven Filmfare Awards and is one of the most-loved films of all time.
Satya
‘Mumbai ka King kaun? Bhiku Mhatre’ is a dialogue that everyone remembers. It is a dialogue that has become a common parlance in popular culture. RGV’s crime drama Satya was the first film of his Gangster trilogy. Made on a shoestring budget the film was a massive commercial hit. The film introduced Manoj Bajpayee in his first big role wherein he shone like a beacon in his gangster avatar of Bhiku Mhatre. Although the film had JD Chakravarthy as the male lead it was Bajapyee who took away all the laurels. The film boasts a stellar star cast that includes Urmila, Shefali Shah and Saurabh Shukla. Over the years, Satya has become a cult film and is called the ‘classic’ of the 90s.
Kaun
Kaun is a suspense thriller directed by RGV and written by Anurag Kashyap. It features Urmila, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh. It was shot in just 15 days. Although the film was not a great commercial success, yet it remains one of the best works of RGV. Kaun is one of the best psychological thrillers ever made in Indian cinema. If you’ve not seen the film then we will not spoil it for you by giving away too much.
Company
Don’t go by the name Company and think that RGV depicted a corporate in the film. However, it is a film based on underworld and mafia and is one of the best ones at that. It is about the company that used to run Mumbai, the company of gangsters. Once again RGV was inspired by true life and based the film on Mumbai gang wars of 80s and 90s. The film depicts the story of two gangsters who used to work together but later turn rivals. The film depicts the real life rivalry of Chota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim. Ajay Devgn and Vivek Oberoi star in this film that remains one of their career-defining films.
Bhoot
RGV revisits the horror genre in Bhoot and trust us he definitely provides the chills. Urmila and Ajay Devgn play a married couple who move to a new house. This seemingly happy occasion wreaks havoc in their happy marital life as Urmila gets possessed and pulls a superlative performance that is still difficult to match. Urmila won several awards and accolades for her performance as a ghost-possessed-wife in Bhoot but it was RGV’s direction and able craftsmanship that definitely deserves a standing ovation.
Sarkar
Partially inspired by The Godfather the film remains one of the best creations of RGV. It was not only a commercial success but was critically acclaimed as well. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Katrina Kaif, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak and Tanisha Mukerji. It is the first installment of Sarkar film series. The film was archived at the American Academy of Motion Pictures library. It remains one of the best films of Abhishek’s career and garnered him several awards for Best Supporting Actor as well.
Rakhta Charitra
Rakhta Charitra proved to be a solid comeback for RGV. The film had an ensemble cast of Vivek Oberoi, Sudeep, Shatrughan Sinha, Abhimanyu Singh, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Sushant Singh, and Radhika Apte. The film was based on the life of factionist leader Paritala Ravindra of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. It is made in two parts. The first part shows the rise of Paritala Ravindra, played by Oberoi and other shows the revenge of Suriya. The film became an instant hit and earned accolades for both RGV and Vivek.
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