Ram Gopal Varma is known for sharing his honest opinions freely on the Indian film industry. In a recent interview, the director was asked his thoughts on the recent trend of making mythological movies in India. Varma shared that he feels it's "very dangerous" to make mythological films in the country because people might get offended by them and such films might have worked in the past, but there's a very little chance of them succceeding at the box office now without any controversies.
When Ram Gopal Varma was asked his opinion on the upcoming Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash as Lord Rama, Sita, and Ravana, the filmmaker told Galtta Plus, "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 further added, "I think it could have worked in the past when Babubhai Mistry made Sampurana Ramayana and all the mythological films of NT Rama Rao. But, today they have reached a status of reverence. Maybe there was not so much polarisation or social media constantly challenging with people’s interpretation."
Citing the example of Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Adipurush, Varma stated, "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."
"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?", the Satya director concluded.
The 2023 release Adipurush, based on Ramayana, was heavily criticised for its pedestrian dialogues, bad performances, and horrible visual effects. Even after earning Rs 393 crore worldwide, the Om Raut directorial was declared a box office disaster as its budget was nearly Rs 500 crore.
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