Ram Gopal Verma
Ram Gopal Verma is a director who needs no introduction, at least not in the world of films made on criminal behavior and crime itself. In his website [1] Ram Gopal Verma writes " Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated with the psychological aspects of criminal behavior. After years of reading and hearing about all kinds of criminal acts and using many of them in parts as subject matter for my films, I had come to the conclusion that I had seen, heard and read. " This is the first and the most important reason why I chose this director. His first Bollywood Crime hit is Satya (1998) and the second one is Company (2002), while he produced D (2005) and these three made up the Indian Gangster Trilogy. This director does not make films because it's his job to make films or to get an earning, instead, from what seems, this director has combined up the concept of stylizing and content making his films real in their nature.
Ram Gopal Verma is a director who needs no introduction, at least not in the world of films made on criminal behavior and crime itself. In his website [1] Ram Gopal Verma writes " Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated with the psychological aspects of criminal behavior. After years of reading and hearing about all kinds of criminal acts and using many of them in parts as subject matter for my films, I had come to the conclusion that I had seen, heard and read. " This is the first and the most important reason why I chose this director. His first Bollywood Crime hit is Satya (1998) and the second one is Company (2002), while he produced D (2005) and these three made up the Indian Gangster Trilogy. This director does not make films because it's his job to make films or to get an earning, instead, from what seems, this director has combined up the concept of stylizing and content making his films real in their nature.
Certain examples of connecting the both, style and content, can be inevitably noted in his films. Assuming that audio is a part of stylizing, Satya not only gained popularity due to the fact that it was based on criminal structures operating in India, but it was also a big hit due to it's famous song "Goli Maar Bheje Main". Because Satya is almost 14 years old, the film is stylized accordingly with that time period in which it was released. His second film Company has the same case. It was a big hit due to it's songs "Khalaas" and "Sab Ganda Hai". Although in Company, he has experimented with different camera techniques and has given a new perspective towards viewing things in POV and extremely high angle shots (a great example would be the shot when things go wrong and there are telephone calls happening in the whole Mumbai city). This is the second reason of me choosing him as the director in focus. This director is not only experimental when it comes to direction, but is also experimental in his choice of making films, such as, in the gap between Satya and Company, he made experimental films (in terms of his particular genre) such as, Jungle in 2000 which was entirely set in a Jungle.
In an interview, Verma speaks of why he chose crime or what were the basic events which lay the foundations for his choice [2]. It was since his highschool, he used to observe bullies in his classroom. This is where Verma started thinking about the big picture. Apart from Verma's explicit features, based on my own perception, Verma has an excellent choice of characters. The key is versatility. Urmila is very versatile and has appeared in three of Verma's hit films. Ajay Devgan is very versatile and has appeared in Company along with Vivek Oberoi.
My genre and the concept behind the film I want to make, is most closely associated with Verma's depiction of the Indian criminal world through his Indian Gangster Trilogy. Infact, it were Verma's films that inspired me to 'do something' about what I feel is deep and gritty in it's nature. The maker of the famous Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle, states in an interview that it were Verma's films which inspired him to shoot the gritty slums of Mumbai [3]. Therefore, the fourth reason here is that Verma has tried getting as close to the reality as he could in his films. A great example would be the torture scene in the film Company, where the local gangster is being interrogated.
Verma is one of those coincidental directors who 'feel' what they should do, they do not pursue any sort of formality to achieve what they know they want. He was actually an Engineering Graduate from the V.R. Siddharta Engineering College, with repeated unsuccessful attempts as assistant directors. It was his view that made him a director, as he himself states, he learned direction by watching films.
References :-
[1] - http://rgvzoomin.com/
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