I knew 'Shiva' would get bad reviews: Ram Gopal Varma

Mumbai, Sep 22 (IANS) Director Ram Gopal Varma is not surprised that audiences in Mumbai have found his "Shiva", a remake of his directorial debut of the same name, to be excessively clichéd and violent.

"I always knew it was going to get extremely bad reviews. I knew critics would see it as a routine hero-villain film. I'm not really surprised by the severe backlash," Varma told IANS.

"I don't consciously think of which section of the audience would like what I'm doing. Besides, all cop films are violent. My next two films 'Darling' and 'Nishabd' aren't violent."

He accepts that "Shiva" is inspired from Govind Nihalani's "Ardh Satya".

"Definitely. When I made my first 'Shiva' many years ago I changed the police backdrop in 'Ardh Satya' to a college campus. Now I've taken 'Shiva' back to the police force. This is more a remake of 'Ardh Satya'."

Excerpts:

Audiences in Mumbai have found "Shiva" to be excessively clichéd and violent.

I always knew it was going to get extremely bad reviews. I knew critics would see it as a routine hero-villain film. I'm not really surprised by the severe backlash. But it's doing superb business in UP, Bihar, Punjab, Bangalore, Nizam, Andhra Pradesh - even better than my "Sarkar".

It's weak in Mumbai and Delhi. People in Pune love it while just miles away in Mumbai they don't think much of it. I don't know why. Audience responses can be so contradictory! In Mumbai Mirror one opinion says Mohit Ahlawat shouldn't be given any more chances, while another guy says he's the next Amitabh Bachchan.

The story is clichéd only because it takes on the timeless theme of an honest cop taking on a corrupt system. It was always my intention to make an unrealistic khaki-coloured actioner. Some people are enjoying it as an entertaining anti-establishment film. Others, who thought the fights were too realistic, have rejected it.

Strangely, top cops in Bihar and Mumbai have loved the film. People running the system find "Shiva" realistic whereas non-establishment guys find it unrealistic. Sure the theme is predictable. But I don't think the execution is predictable.

"Shiva" is too violent to be enjoyed by families.

To establish how ruthless anti-social elements are, I had to show the violence. The audience had to feel the brutality of the characters to appreciate the heroism of the protagonist. In any case, a filmmaker can't please everyone.

I don't consciously think of which section of the audience would like what I'm doing. Besides, all cop films are violent. My next two films, "Darling" and "Nishabd", aren't violent.

"Darling" is difficult to classify. There's a ghost but it isn't supernatural film. It's very strange and probably my most original film. So for those who think "Shiva" is unoriginal, I hope "Darling" serves its purpose.

All my films so far are taken from somewhere or the other. "Sarkar" may not resemble "The Godfather". But the truth is, if I hadn't seen Francis Ford Coppola's film I wouldn't have made "Sarkar".

"Shiva" seems like a violent homage to Govind Nihalani's "Ardh Satya".

Definitely. When I made my first "Shiva" many years ago I changed the police backdrop in "Ardh Satya" to a college campus. Now I've taken "Shiva" back to the police force. This is more a remake of "Ardh Satya". But whereas "Ardh Satya" excited the intellect, my "Shiva" is made to excite primeval instincts. Villains like Kutney and Bappu hark back to the characters from the 1970s.

You made "Shiva" to re-launch your protégé Mohit?

I made it to experience the old-fashioned action genre where you feel every punch. I wanted to feel the visceral thrill. Mohit's character isn't the archetypal angry young man. But because of his calm face, the punch seems far more powerful.

I feel an actor is like real estate. You've to have the vision to pinpoint the land and then develop it. An actor can have 13 flops and then become an overnight superstar. The same guys who wrote off Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra after "Aks" think he's the best after "Rang De Basanti". Why can't people stop being so negative about Mohit? We're working together in "Sholay" again.

Bappu is modelled on gangster turned politician Arun Gawle. Why are you constantly cannibalising real-life figures?

Bappu isn't modelled on Arun Gawle beyond some referential similarities. When people saw "Company", they said it was based on the rivalry between two underworld dons. And they thought "Sarkar" was Bal Thackeray's story. I use these characters and their lives as only as sub-texts. Realistic cinema cannot come out of thin air.

Audiences find it hard to accept Nisha Kothari as a committed journalist.

In Bollywood, actors do all kind of roles. The effectuality of the actor depends on the way he or she is presented. And contrary to what some critics say, Nisha's voice isn't dubbed. This is a free country. Everyone has an opinion.

The basic tendency in every human being is to say and hear bad rather than good things. It sounds far more spicy to say Ramu has made f...k-all film. This is truer than within the industry than anywhere else. They hate the thought of anyone making a successful film.

But I feel cinema is like a bookstore. P.G. Woodhouse and James Hadley Chase have to co-exist. No one author or book can satisfy everybody. The secret is to know how many copies to put out. Likewise, the audience connects with a film on various levels and for various reasons. Timing is important to the release of a film.

The same supporting cast occurs in all your films?

Why just me? Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt, David Dhawan they all like to work with the same supporting cast. When an actor like Zakir Husain builds an image in a particular genre of my cinema, it's easy to identify him instantly in the plot as a villain. I don't think the audience gets tired of seeing the same supporting cast.

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