Ram Gopal Varma Question And Answers #60
591. Is it books or life
experiences which made you like this?
Ans: Both, as books make you
understand experiences and experiences make you understand books.
592. I think you are a
genius with your films and mad man with your philosophies and humour.
Ans: I thought it was the
other way round.
593. What is your stand on
women and sex?
Ans: Women are torture and
sex is pleasure.
594. Do you think writing is
a superior way to express thoughts than movies?
Ans: Yes and No. For
instance I will quote a passage from Godfather where Mario Puzo describes the
character Luca Brasi.
“Luca Brasi was one of the
most feared men in the eastern underworld. Short, squat and massive skulled his
presence sent out alarm bells of danger. His reputation for violence was awesome
and his devotion to the Don was legendary. He was in himself one of the great
blocks that supported the Don’s power structure. He did not fear God, he did
not fear police, he did not fear society and he did not fear or love his fellow
man but ushered into the Don’s presence he held himself still with respect.
Luca Brasi was the only man who could make the Don feel uneasy. He was like a
natural force not unlike a typhoon and not truly subject to control.”
I think no director can
visually match the awe Puzo’s words managed to evoke through his description of
Luca Brasi. For me Coppola’s visual version of Luca pales in comparison to
Puzo’s Luca. The reason for that is because Puzo’s description fires the
reader’s imagination to the extent that reality cannot match up to it.
On the other hand I will
visually narrate a scene from another movie.
“The camera is on the floor
and you see the naked feet of a woman up to a little above the ankle come into
the frame as she got off the bed. She starts walking and the camera tracks
along with her feet as her panties lying on the floor come into the frame. Her
hands enter the frame and as she slips her legs in to them and starts slowly
pulling the panties up the camera travels up along with the panties up with her
legs and just when we think we will see her crotch the camera stops and the
panties go up out of the frame. She goes out of the frame and the camera pans
to a guy on the bed who says ‘I love your butt baby’.
If we analyze this scene the
psychological play involved in it goes something like this. When we first see
the feet our mind goes “Is she naked?” and when the panties come into the frame
our mind goes “Oh fuck! She is naked” and when the camera starts going up
slowly along with the panties up her thighs our mind goes “Don’t tell me that
he will show” to “Oh yes, he’s going to show” and when the camera abruptly
stops we will let out a expletive at the director and when she goes out of the
frame and the guy says “I love your butt” we will want to kill him with jealousy.
The above emotional
manipulations can be possible only with a camera and would be very difficult to
capture in mere writing. So I would sum it up as, there are certain writings
that the visual media cannot do justice to and vice versa.
Incidentally before you guys
ask me which film is this panties scene from let me tell you that I just made
it up to explain my point.
595. Start working more on a
form rather than a story… don’t over dramatize a situation with technique… cut
down on background scene… be more simplistic and realistic.
Ans: Ok Sir… Ok Sir… Ok Sir…
Ok Sir… Anything else Sir?
596. When did manipulating
audiences/devotees come into the picture?
Ans: Hello can you know a
joke when you see it?
597. Have you ever proposed
to a girl?
Ans: About 142 times, and I
was rejected 163 times. The other 21 rejected me even before I could propose.
598. When Ayn Rand disagrees
with Nietzsche how can both be your favourites?
Ans: I pick up what suits me
from everything and everyone in the world. I don’t cater to a single
philosopher. I just make a massala of all of them to spice up my life.
599. Do you get very
involved with your background scores or do you leave it to the music directors?
Ans: No. I am very much in
the foreground in the background music aspect and I pretty much relegate the
music directors to the background.
600. It hurts me that you
yourself make fun of Aag.
Ans: Ohhhhh so chweeeet of
you! Can I treat you for dinner or in case you are a girl can I propose to you
please?