Re-introducing RGV…
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We love to hate him these days. For reasons as varied as his recent on-screen outings to his off-screen quote martials. Now, with Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag releasing in a couple of weeks, we are long ready with our knives out. And the man knows it that if he flounders one more time the ready obits will be published with elan.
Well we have to wait till end-August to find out if RGV Ki Fire (it’s hopefully not Brokeback Mountain meets Deepa Mehta) backfires or sets screens on fire. Till then we will continue to slam the man for every little twist he turns into his script, from the cleavage drop of Mehbooba o mehbooba to the length of Thakur’s flapping kurta.
For some more food for thought on RGV, I am presenting this anthology of sorts. It’s a list of people he has introduced in this industry. What I started researching as a small box has indeed turned out to be an essay of sorts. It’s just the primary players in the cast and crew. I am sure that there will be a few glitches in the facts and a few additions here and there. Yes, all of them are most welcome.
I am no way defending RGV in any way or asking you to look at his immense contribution to moviedom. I am just laying out the facts. Yes, I was a big RGV fan ever since I saw Shiva (the first one that is) but recent films like Shiva (obviously the new one) have hurt my respect count for the man. But my hat’s always off to the maverick movie mogul who has unveiled creativity with every clapstick, allowed so many to achieve their big dream – their first film. Here it goes…
Shiva
Shankar Suri (Editor) – Also edited Raat and then after 14 years has edited a Telugu film called Rakhi (directed by Shiva assistant director Krishna Vamshi)
J.D. Chakravarthi (Actor) – Played the college mastaan, goes on to play the title role in Satya and then directs three duds — Durga, Darna Zaroori Hai (one episode) and Darwaza Bandh Rakho
Raat
Mani Sharma (Composer) – Goes on to become a popular music director down south and is still a bankable name with hit soundtracks of Pokiri and Stalin.\
Teja (Cinematographer) – Goes on to shoot Bollywood masala movies like Shastra, Rakshak and Krishna (why all Suniel Shetty starrers?)
Rangeela
Sanjay Chhel (Dialogues) – He did Pehla Nasha but Rangeela was his real break. Goes on to write fun dialogues for Yes Boss and Daud and then flounders as director with Khoobsurat and Kya Dil Ne Kaha. Back in business as the dialogue writer of Partner. Last heard, was planning to direct again
Neeraj Vora (Dialogues) – Goes on to write dialogues for many Bollywood movies like Baadshah and Hera Pheri before becoming the Hindi representative and constant collaborator of Priyadarshan. As director, Khiladi 420 flopped, Phir Hera Pheri a huge box office success. No one can forget him as Chako, jiska maa ek bahut bade shikari the
Shefali Shah (Actor) – Does a cameo as a typical Bollywood heroine, goes on to play crucial roles in Satya and Monsoon Wedding. Is a knockout as Kasturba in Gandhi My Father. Awaiting Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear
Nivas (Editor) – Never edited another film. Directed Telugu films like Second Hand
H Sridhar (Sound department) – Goes on to become a pioneer in every aspect of sound. Separated from RGV after Mast. Has worked with everyone from Mani Ratnam to Ashutosh Gowariker
Daud
Manoj Bajpai (Actor) – Since Bandit Queen was banned, this was his first proper release having had a cameo in Drohkaal. Goes on to play Bhiku Mathre in Satya, continues his association with RGV in Kaun? and Shool, and then struggles to get a hit despite doing dozens of mainstream Bollywood stuff. Formally announces his split with RGV and switches to more meaningful cinema with 1971 and The Whisperers
Rasool Ellore (Cinematographer) – First major break after shooting a couple of Telugu films for RGV. Never works with RGV again, goes on to shoot Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya
Bhanodaya (Editor) – Goes on to edit Satya and Kaun. Has also edited the unreleased Shock
Satya
Anurag Kashyap (Writer) – Goes on to write Kaun and Shool for RGV before writing for many directors like Mani Ratnam and Deepa Mehta. Even though his directorial debut Paanch never got a theatrical release, he is billed as the next big thing in the Indian movie industry only from private screenings and pirated viewings. Black Friday officially proves that. Awaiting the release of No Smoking
Saurabh Shukla (Writer) – Goes on to write important films like Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar and Raghu Romeo. His own directorial ventures Mudda and Chehraa have a no-show. The man, better known as Kallu Mama, continues to act and write
Sushant Singh (Actor) – Gets an innocuous role where he slashed on his cheek. Goes on to play one of the three characters in Kaun? before doing Veerappan in Jungle. Said to have given Sambha a new meaning in RGV’s version of Sholay
Sandeep Chowtha (Composer) – Did have a couple of releases before but this was a long-lasting association. Goes on to score music for Shool, Mast, Jungle and Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Separated from RGV post-Road
Snehal Dabi (Actor) – Goes on to do brilliant cameos in many RGV and non-RGV movies… especially the fake producer in Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega
Mazhar Kamran (Cinematographer) – Also shoots Kaun. Then separates from RGV. Goes on to shoot Jhankaar Beats
Apurva Asrani (Editor) – As Bhanodaya’s co-editor. Also edits Snip, Om Jai Jagadish and Chhal before directing Out of Control for Vashu Bhagnani with Playboy Playmate Brande Rodericks
Kaun?
No one new!
Mast
Aftab Shivdasani – Launched as a male lead. Finds success in Kasoor but since then has disappointed both loyalists RGV and Vikram Bhatt
Rajpal Yadav (Actor) – Cast as a café boy, given more and more footage in Shool and Jungle. Goes on to emerge as one of the most bankable comedians in Bollywood but continues association with RGV. To appear as Soorma Bhopali in RGV’s Fire
Antara Mali (Actor) – Had a crush on Aftab little knowing one day she will swap gender with him in Mr Ya Miss. Goes on to become RGV’s new davaai for leg-fetish with movies like Company, Road, Gayab and Naach. Last heard she no longer wanted to be Madhuri Dixit
Chandan Arora (Editor) – Goes on to edit Company, Pyar Tune Kya Kiya and Road for RGV. Both directorial efforts – Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon and Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh receive great acclaim from the few who go to watch it
Vinod Ranganathan (Writer) – Interestingly he acted in Govind Nihalani’s Drishti. Also wrote Ken Ghosh’s Ishq Vishk
Ramesh Katkar (Writer) – Hasn’t written anything else for anyone. Has written and directed the yet-to-be-released multistarrer Rokda
Nitin Raikwar (Lyricist) – Brought in for the conversational lyrics, goes on to compose and even sing for movies like D and James
Jungle
Jaideep Sahni (Writer) – Also writes Company for RGV before separation. Have hence written Khosla Ka Ghosla before moving on to the Yash Raj camp with Bunty Aur Babli and now Chak De India
Vijay Raaz (Actor) – Did have a role in Bhopal Express but his eyes were first noticed in the interrogation scene in Jungle. Does Company and Road with RGV before finding international success with Monsoon Wedding and Raghu Romeo
Dwarak Warrier (Sound designer) – Does breakthrough work in Company and Bhoot. Last worked in Naach for RGV
Shool
E. Nivas (Director) – Great debut but somewhere loses the way with the Fargo copy Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Dum and Bardaasht. Awaiting De Taali and My Name is Anthony Gonzalves
Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya
Rajat Mukherjee (Director) – Turned Fatal Attraction into the RGV brand of sex-and-slash movie, also made Road for him before thinking of making Sonu Nigam an actor with Love in Nepal
Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega
Venkat R. Prasad (Cinematographer) – Also shot a Telugu film called Bobby
Rajnish Thakur (Writer) – Goes on to write Road and Darna Mana Hai. Directed Amar Joshi Shahid Ho Gaya with Shayan Munshi which is yet to release
Company
Viveik Oberoi (Actor) – Makes a great debut as Chandu Nagre, then follows it up with Road and Saathiya before digging his own grave. Separated from RGV post Darna Mana Hai
Hemant Chaturvedi (Cinematographer) – Never works with RGV again but goes on to shoot Makdee and Maqbool for Vishal Bhardwaj
Road
Koena Mitra (Actor) – Item girl with Khullam Khulla, got promoted with time to a heroine. RGV never worked with her again
Sudeep Chatterjee (Cinematographer) – Goes on to break many new grounds with films like Iqbal, Kaalpurush, Dor and now Chak De India. Separated at birth from RGV
Bhoot
Shimit Amin (Editor) – Goes on to direct Ab Tak Chhappan, has to abort Veerappan film with RGV, crosses sides and is now ready with Chak De India
Vishal Sinha (Cinematographer) – Also shot Darna Mana Hai and Ab Tak Chhappan for RGV and then worked on Kalpana Lajmi’s Chingaari
Peeya Roy Chowdhury (Actor) – Also does Darna Mana Hai and Vaastu Shastra with RGV. Comes of age in The Bong Connection
Darna Mana Hai
Prawal Raman (Director) – Mixed reaction to this six-in-one slasher film meant he only got to direct one episode in the sequel. Also directed the Mr India rehash Gayab for RGV
Atul Sabharwal (Writer) – Goes on to write Phir Milenge and My Wife’s Murder
Nipun Gupta (Editor) – Still with RGV, he’s cut most of recent works including Sarkar and Nishabd
Amit Parmar (Editor) – Works in tandem with Nipun, has spliced the same movies
Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon
No one new!
Ek Hasina Thi
Sriram Raghavan (Director) – Despite making a humdinger of a debut, doesn’t get a release for the next three years thanks to Jhamu Sugandh. Ready with Johnny Gaddaar (now where have we heard that before) and slated to make Agent Vinod with Saif as producer-actor
Pooja Ladha Surti (Writer) – Also wrote Naach for RGV
Ab Tak Chhappan
Nakul Vaid (Actor) – Has an important role in Goutam Ghose’s Yatra
Sandeep Srivastava (Writer) – Written dialogues of Kabul Express
Gayab
No one new!
Vaastu Shastra
Sourabh Usha Narang (Director) – TV vet makes his debut and is right now, as you read, scripting another film
Zakir Hussain (Actor) – NSD graduate who got more and more meat in his roles. Last did Darwaza Bandh Rakho with RGV. One of the paanch in Johnny Gaddaar
Sachin K. Krishn (Cinematographer) – Also shot Blue Umbrella, (Onir’s) Bas Ek Pal and Just Married
Charu Dutt Acharya (Writer) – Hasn’t written any other movie yet
Naach
Kiran Reddy (Cinematographer) – Shot Darna Zaroor Hai as well
Musharraf Ali Khan (Writer) – Hasn’t written any other movie yet
Sulekha Bajpai (Writer) – Wrote the new Jai Santoshi Maa
D
Randeep Hooda (Actor) – Touted as the biggest RGV find he is quickly sidelined after another RGV spat
Vishram Sawant (Director) – Made this movie, split with D and then almost made it all over again with Risk
Manish Gupta (Writer) – Wrote most of RGV’s recent flicks and even directed an episode in Darna Zaroori Hai
Sarkar
Nisha Kothari (Actor) – Does a cameo before going on to be the new RGV girl with James. Is the new Basanti aka Ghungroo in RGV’s Fire
My Wife’s Murder
Jijy Phillip (Director) – Also directed an episode of Darna Zaroori Hai
Mr Ya Miss
Satchit Puranik (Writer) – Hasn’t written any other movie yet
Vivek Shah (Editor) – Also directed an episode of Darna Zaroori Hai
Samir Sarkar (Cinematographer) – Is more adept as a still photographer, assisted Rajeev Menon on Guru
Darna Zaroori Hai
Sajid Khan (Director) – Made the prologue as homework for Heyy Babyy
James
Rohit Jugraj (Director) – Public spat with RGV post-release which gave birth to Shiva 2, which in reality was James 2. Very confusing! He is now making another film with Kunal Khemu
Mohit Ahlawat (Actor) – Mr Muscles was RGV’s replacement for Manoj and Viveik but the honeymoon didn’t last long and he was unceremoniously dropped from RGV’s
Sholay
Amal Neerad (Cinematographer) – Went on to make a Malayalam film with Mammootty called Big B after shooting Shiva
Shiva
No one new!
Darwaza Bandh Rakho
No one new!
Nishabd
Jiah Khan (Actor) – RGV’s Lolita has split with him and is doing a Carrie-Anne Moss in Aamir Khan’s Hindi remake of Ghajini
Finally I think the magic of RGV lies not in what he is making but how he is making them. The strength of the man lies in working with an Amar Mohile when AR Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj are ready to score his films, to survive without a Shah Rukh Khan or a Salman Khan, to remake Sholay without the consent of the original makers. That’s Aag man, the spark of which so many people have felt…
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Fantastic list. We always talk about the new talents produced via RGV’s movies but this is the first list of it’s kind…
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Rajpal was introduced in shool
Vijayraj in jungle
mickey A.K.A musharraf ali khan wrote Main madhuri..
zakir hussain in sarkar and that actor who played Big B’s right hand man
Reinvented KK for bollywood
amar mohile the background score guy
sunidhi chauhan in mast
Th e rangeela lyricist Mehboob
sandeep nath the lyricist
Makarand deshpande as lyricist and music composer, singer
Raghuvaran, nagarjuna to the hindi audience
reinvented Paresh as a comic actor as pinky
Urmila matondkar for god’s sake
reinvented fardeen
barkha madan in bhoot
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sandeep kulkarni in shool who went on to play lead in dombivali fast
sayaji shinde in shool
snehal daabi in satya
hari nair the cinematographer of shool
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raju mavani as an actor
the list is endless, that was the ramu we loved, now he plays safe, he only works with bachchans and known faces, then he would trust his technicians , today he doesn’t trust anyone..
then he knew what he was doing , today he knows what he is selling..
then there was passion, then came hunger for power, now he just wants to prove a point.. somewhere he has forgotten why he wanted to make films, he was the original anti establishment , the rebel who has now become the system, the establishment..
take it from me Aag will be crap, why? because there is more focus on look and get ups than his real love for sholay.. he is the man who taught me all i know and his are the films i don’t watch anymore.. it’s bad enough to wake up and read this and remember all i want to forget.. i can go on.. but let me go and brush my teeth..
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he is the first director-producer from south,who established a movie factory in mbumbai…mostly dominated by panjabi,sindhi and baniya community.
he is not a failure.
i am sure he will come back and introduce more talents to industry.
just wait and watch.
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Kya solid reseach kiya hai bhai. Hats off.
No matter what the industry or people in general feel, RGV in 17 years, has a body of work, that he can leave today and his name will still be written into the Indian cinema’s Hall of Fame (if there is any).
If there is any one person who single handedly bought technical excellence to Indian cinema, it can be attributed to RGV. Period.
We took pictures at lousy angles with our cameras and attributed it to the RGV style. Heck i even watched James twice only because its a RGV production ;)
+++
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i guess we can make a book out of this. chicken soup for film struglers. 1001 inspiring stories from the rgv camp
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waise ek list yeh bhi bane ki kitne factory ke aage fossil ban gaye.
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For the Hindi Audience
Kota Srinivasa Rao – Selvermani [Sarkar]
Jeeva – Jagga Bhai, Satya
Mohanlal
And the countless amazing unknown deadpan faces he uses as cutaways in his scenes.
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Thanks Oz, I really felt strongly about this and even though it took me a greater part of a day I went ahead… In the end it was worth it…
Anurag… “it
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Pratim…sachit was not write but co-director of Mr Ya Miss…the other director was Antara Mali…
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Yes Kumar that’s mentioned in the Antara Mali byte under Mast…
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Nitin Raikwar also acted in Mast.
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yes, didn’t mention because that wasn’t his core area… definitely not even like Neeraj Vora
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Snehal Dhabi played Chandu (tapori) in Satya. Aaj Kappor in Love Ke Liye…. How can you not remember him?! He played eunuch in Ek Chalis…..
Bhandekar also started his career by assisting RGV, I think.
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Have not mentioned Assistants otherwise had to get in Prawaal and Nipun and Amit and everyone in their assistant projects… You can get to assist anybody but it’s big only when you are asked to direct or edit a film…
Honhaar any idea what has Snehal done after Satya?
Aaj Kapoor, I will surely add…
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Hera Pheri – right after that Po-Po song. He thinks Asrani is a Dalala. In Mast as a rickshwallah – sort of playing RGV – who is a fan of Sri Devi, so runs away from home to just meet her….
He was last seen in Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. He played an eunuch.
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That’s Aaj Kapoor I remember talking about his obsession with Sridevi in Mast… But what about Snehal?
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huh-le-lo!
No, no, Aaj Kapoor is Snehal’s character name in Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. I
I do not remember his character name in Mast.
Anyway here is his IMDB
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Awesome compilation, thanx Pratim. Why can’t rgv make something like rangeela.. please make it… please for the sake of the world. please
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Cheers Suchita! Was thinking of sending this to RGV to help him relive his genius…
Got it Honhaar!
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Thx for such a unique post…planning to c kaun? again…
Amitabh uncle [Bhaiyya] runied our RGV anna…I totally agree with Anurag…but i am very pessimistic..RGV plz prove all of us wrong…n plz think outside Amitabh n nisha kothari…
Congrats: On dropping Mohit Ahlawat from the factory…
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Hey cheers anand! Amit uncle and Nisha behen together in RGV’s N:2 – The Real Lolita!
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anurag,
is it true that your film ‘NO SMOKING’ is gonna clash with RGV’s ‘DARLING’ on 7th sept? the promos of DARLING are currently on air..your take on it?
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Shiva(telugu)
Krishna vamsi as assistant who is now one of the leading directors of telugu cinema. directed Shakti with nana patekar
brahmaji,chinna – character artists in telugu
uttej – yadigiri who now writes dialogues for many movies in telugu, also a side actor.
countless others that got immortalized in the movie but never made it big later.
Kshana kshanam( hairaan in hindi)
- first movie where paresh rawal shows his comic side. as a comic villain. also his intro in telugu.
money ( as producer)
- introduced siva nageswara rao as director
- renuka shahane to telugu audience. I think this was also her first screen appearance. before HAHK.
Gulabi ( as producer)
-introduced the hyper talented krishna vamsi as a director.
- sasi preetham as music director. one film wonder that gave great songs for this movie.
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wasn’t Nivas the editor on Raat as well?
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Oh! I saw his early Telegu movies…that’s what I did while in Vizag in the early 90s….and they were quirky all right..he did get in some fabulous techies into movies then.
His primary problems now are that he does not pay attention to the Script and the form as much as he does to the styling and the marketing.
Also, he is economically occupied more now and latches on to tried and tested yped formulas that are’nt working anymore. Also, the gangster movies need to get better in terms of profile and he has not been able to gauge it correctly as much as Sriram has done with Johnny Gaddar!
Simple Management says “step back – rethink – recharge – come back….he still has it in him…he was’nt a one film wonder like many others!!!!!!!
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Shiva, Rangeela, Daud, Satya, Company… obviously he was not a one-film wonder but he just fell short of greatness by going the way he has gone… Today he is not much different from Dev Anand – a short-sighted, egoistic and ziddi director… Hope he redeems himself real quick…
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hi Pratim…
U forgot to mention Kusum Punjabi, she wrote the screenplay for Nishabd…
Love him or hate him… we cannot ignore him…
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There is not an iota of originality in any of Varma’s films…they’re all stylistically or thematically hollywood ripoffs…the only reason he was considered path breaking is because his copies were actually loyal to their American sources..this shot taking, editing, soundtracks, razzle dazzle, directness of approach, suspense build up..EVERYTHING reeks of classical hollywood, albeit in an Indian avatar….
There are way way more original directors than RGV, in the old days as well as today….
The guy is hyped way too much, as are some of the self proclaimed ‘geniuses’ on this site!
First produce a body of work like Ford or Wilder or Kubrick or Hitchcock, and then maybe, just maybe you can call yourself a filmmaker….
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Have not Agreed..thirdeyeopen…not every director raises to the status of the world greats so fast..as for “geniuses” here, no yaar…nobody is professing to be genius here…only their process of getting to be there involves blogging on PFC..this is a good medium of mind sharing..no harm there…and helps chart a solid path ahead..at least far better than those Latka – jhatka movies and Bahu – saas serials that India is obsessed with now. So, hold on buddy..we are in interesting times here!!!
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yeah Indraneel, but the fact is that rgv is a shameless hollywood ripoff artist…and he’s worshipped in India for his ‘originality’, in what pray tell? copying ‘Godfather’?
There are way more original voices in India, in the old days as well as today….Sudhir Mishra,Nagesh Kukunoor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Bimal Roy etc… even Raj Kapoor to me is a lot more original than rgv, that guy is just a overhyped commodity, pretty mediocre if you ask me…
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Indraneel sahi bol raha hain bhai teesriaankhopener… LOL… but ur views are respected too…
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hiwarale, Im not disagreeing with anyone…just dont put up any false prophets…ok? Lets call a spade a spade…I honestly think in India people are always ready to worship the next hype that comes along…I think it’s in the genetic makeup…
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Yes, thirdeyeopen…one thing is sure that we should not promote ripoffs anymore. But, then that would mean writers having to do a lot of homework, introspection, lot of living life, understanding, travelling, angst, insecurity and visual sense. Unfortunately, we are not having too many of that breed of emotive pen pushers now!!
Yes, the language writers are there..but movies have to work economically too..as the others put it…yahaan sirf “propositions” chalta hai!!! So, the language guys are left on the wayside. Also, who wants to be a “premchand in penury”. Better to write ZEE TV afternoon slot serials for a living. So, there….Catch 22!!!
Films depend and shall always depend on good writing…whether Pyaasa, Anand, Golmaal or Hazaaron…!!!!
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Zakir Hussain was there even in Ek Haseena Thi, he played Sanjeev whose murder falls on Saif; a 5-minute role, but played superbly (better than his turn in Sarkar). Even Ravi Kale (Big B’s right hand in Sarkar) was there in Ek Haseena Thi.
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good one zero, will bring Zakir ahead…
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thirdeye, even rajkapoor was influenced, all his films had a source.. mostly italian films..
ramu was great the same way a lot of modernday greats are defined, his cinema is influenced by b grade cinema he saw growing up..or grown up.. problem is he has exhausted his influence,,
and i disagree that if you can’t be wilder, kubrick or coppola you can’t be a filmmaker..
and the names you take are also hollywood, and there is much more cinema that exists beyond that, it’s constantly changing and reinventing itself, by your definition, whatever exists today is not cinema, that also is the point of view of a lot of filmmakers who use that as an excuse not to make films.. a syndrome that mostly film school student suffer from.. greatness is what is thrust upon them by us fans with time.. based on the influence they generate..
kubrick himself acknowledges lang as an influence, read wilder by cameron crowe and you will read who influenced wilder.. sometimes it’s not just the films..
bimal roy was influenced by a lot of literature..
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sadhu! sadhu!
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sadhu…sadhu,,,Pratim…really!!! my mom watching “chirodinee tumi je aamaar” on TV and feeling happy!!!
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thirdeyeopen,
“originality is all about concealing your sources!”..so if you know the sources of RGV’s ‘rip-offs’ then please be kind enough to share with us..or else it stays original!
c’mon dude expose him! open your fourth eye!! your comment should be an eye opener!!!
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Guys,
Speaking of really good RGV movies (which is a thing of past!!), i dont know if you guys have seen ‘Gayam’ in telugu which he made ages before he started making hindi movies and which was the original ‘Sarkar’. When ‘Sarkar’ came out, everyone were like ‘its the greatest movie ever’ but i found the original verision ‘Gayam’ better with great performances from Jagapathi Babu and Revathi (Also featuring Urmila, in a cameo, in her pre-rangeela days!)
Of course, Shiva (was in love with nagarjuna for a really long time after the movie came out)
Rathri (Raat)- i saw this much later as i was not allowed to watch this move…at that time heard ppl were really scared and someone got a heart-attack in the theatre which watching it.
Also loved his Money (producer) which was remade as love ke liye kuch bhi karega (re-introducing Jayasudha in a wonderful role) and Money Money
kshana-kshanam -bringing Sreedevi back to telugu industry after a long time though now i cant stand her damsel-in-distress act but loved it then and awesome performance by Paresh Rawal-he had the best of one-liners with the straightest face in the movie which me and my friends still talk on the topic about it when we get together.
govinda-govinda – this was the movie which apparently prompted RGV to move to hindi industry as he was not allowed to shoot in the inner sanctum of Tirupathi temple on which the movie was based by the AP govt along with a whole bunch of other reasons.
In those days, our staple diet of movies were hindi/english movies and telugu only if they were made by RGV or dubbed movies of Mani Ratnam.
He did have it good guys and hope that he gets back to his original form someday.
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Anurag , I didn’t say that you cant be a filmmaker if you’re not like Wilder,Ford etc…I was referring to their body of work, which is simply prodigious. On this site I’ve heard people spouting forth like self proclaimed ‘gurus’ having made barely one or two vaguely recognizable films…
Also, there is nothing wrong in being ‘inspired’ by anyone..it is what you do with that inspiration – which in the case of rgv is simply mediocre at best.Yes of course anyone can be inspired, just like all the hollywood greats were….but what they produced was simply breathtaking…
Like I said earlier, in India people are always ready to worship the next hype that comes along..it’s in the genetic makeup…there seem to be a lot of Anurag worshippers on this site..!lol
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3rdeo… I would watch it… “lot of Anurag worshippers on this site” – a very skewed view in my opinon… insulting and belittling some very intelligent and smart readers, who have minds of their own and have come to like and challenge the people behind the movies.
And again a very insulting and armchair quaterback statement “On this site I
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aaaagghh…sounds to me like the truth hit home…didn’t it, mr.oz? and who’s the armchair quarterback..the wannabe who sits on his behind all day programming a ‘worship’ site or me, who’s practically working 16 hours a day on movie sets, for the last 15 years...?
And dont tell me to watch it…whatever happened to glorious dissent? What are you, some kind of online dictator? Well, hey guess what buddy..I dont worship the gods that you do…so adios amigo, best of luck in breaking free of those chains….. ‘give me liberty or give me death’
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sorry 3rd eye, i suggest you be the devil’s advocate..
well you know what, PFC is not the bible of cinema..
no one here is a prophet of cinema either.. it’s a platform where everyone has their own reasons to be on.. to me it’s my let out, my opinion that i can write unadulterated, it’s also so one knows how the others are thinking, sometimes it’s intense, sometimes it’s fun.. and it’s never binding to anyone who visits..
nobody knows the ultimate truth..
i can see you are a cynic too,and you are not just passing through, you keep coming back, so my friend we have a club of them here, welcome aboard..stay on and keep us grounded and aware of our shallowness..
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wow, you really have no balls , do you? goodbye forever.
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i guess this is all the fire rgv ki aag – my first title for this post – is going to generate… anurag for every 3rd eye there are a thousand eyes looking up to you… and they always will… please ignore them because they know not what they say…
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third eye 16 years working 15 hours on set..
that says something, doesn’t it.. it means that you couldn’t even make that vague film..
is that killing you that you couldn’t be kubrick so others can’t be themselves..
you sound like the EX FTII HOD of direction department who use to say “what is the point, if you can’t be styajit ray, go back home and don’t make films”
guess you attended his classes so you are working 15 hrs for last 16 yrs still waiting for the white light of greatness to fall on you..
pl lift us from mediocrity and lead us by example.. make a film..
even pakkejah took 11 years to make
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‘anurag, for every third eye there are a thousand eyes looking up to you’!!!! LOL,LMAO(laughing my ass off!) now anurag/oz… if that’s not worship, plz tell me what is?
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well actually I’m a dp and editor
(having worked on approx 57 international productions) and currently in prep for my home production which I will direct…
dont jump to conclusions so fast my friend..!And I did not call your film vague, it was a general statement…so dont be so hurt.And what is HOD…whatever…plz use terminology that everyone can understand.
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even if it’s worship, isn’t it a very personal choice? why is it biting you? will you decide for me what is good cinema and what is bad, who is a genius and who is a loser? you may admire black, me black friday… to each his own. the point is anurag is out there making an effort and there are many people like me who have great expectations from him. you may keep laughing your ass off but that won’t kick any ass, my friend. go, get a life
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hod is head of the department which most morons also understand
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3rd eye when i say vague, i speak on behalf of all the filmmakers on this forum.. barring sudhir who we all agree can’t be categorised with the rest of us..
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anurag..let me explain something to you, did u know that the difference between human dna and monkey dna is only .1 percent? therefore, all of humanity can pretty much be put into one category! a sudhir mishra or anyone else is exactly the same…we all have to die one day…nothing lasts forever…the only truth is the truth of the buddha – ‘Anicca’- impermanence. We suffer because we cling to things that are intrinsically unsatisfactory and impermanent…have you tried Vipassana? Also, I think you are intelligent enough to see the truth in my statements….
You must have seen Maya Deren and Allan Resnais’films – pure,unadulterated cinema that seeps into the collective subconscious(…now is that vague enough for you?)
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what i see 3rd eye is contradiction.. which is again a welcome thing
you talk of impermanence and yet you have a definition of things(permanence)..
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3rd eye. you dont think much of this space don’t come here, put in more hours into your film set. who stops you.
incidentally if you read sudhir m’s diary he mentions,
“The act of film making is simultaneously an act of arrogance and an act of humility. You can hate anybody
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Two RGV flicks that failed to get any mention in the above lists but I put them in top slots when it comes to RGV movies.. One is Drohi and another one is Hairan… Nothing exceptional though but not easily forgettable too.. Hairan had Paresh’s brilliant one liners (Possibly penned by Neeraj Vora…. Neeraj vora initially got a break as a music director in Pehla Nasha (with Uttank) but RGV never used musical skills of Neeraj Vora)..
RGV had Pancham (for Drohi and Antham) when he was going thru the worst phase.. Also gave first break to Rahman for a hindi film.. Satya marks the brilliance of Background Score and how could it be a character of the film…. also the film had no dance directors and still RGV got actors to do a Sapne me milti hai on their own (and ofc goli mar bheje me)..
Also RGV produced Dil Se with an unsual and exceptioanal teaming with Shekhar Kapoor and Mani Rathnam…
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This topic is something i very storgly believe in. I remember when i was working in Bollywood, RGV had started his downward slide. I think it co incided with him going to Gym a lot because all of a sudden he had these great biceps. Anyways i’m digressing.
I remember arguing with countless people who were dying for RGV’s fall. I always asked them ‘Name one guy in Bollywood who gave so many breaks to so many talented people?’ So what he exploited them a lot. He gave you a fuckin break man. After that its upto you. He made so many assistants & other technicians Directors. They say he ghost directed & this & that. I say the dude got his 1st movie made. Which other filmmaker had so much balls? None.
Thanks for such a wonderful article.
Theirdeyeopen, welcome to PFC. We need more rebels like you to make the conversations interesting. I wish there wasnt so much trolling business here. As even Anurag welcomes your views. You live in Pacific Palasades?
BTW THIRDEYEOPEN is not me. I’m a Anurag ‘worshipper’ & would not comment like that. Just making it clear for you since the IP address is from LA area. And since I have a very bad reputaion here in LA:)
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Happy Mainak that you liked the article… I think it needs a lot to actually support and fund someone else’s dream film in and film out…
Pavan Jha my idea was to capture who all have RGV introduced through all these years. It was not his filmography at all…
Any idea if RGV is introducing anyone in his Aag?
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Drohi had some kick ass music. I completely forgot that film. I used to listen to it every night. Never got to watch the film though.
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Drohi — that was RGV trying to create pure shock value… Mainak – the one song from Drohi where Nagarjuna suddenly turns his head to his left to begin singing “DHADKATI meri dil mein hain aiee tu” dhan dhan dhan dhan dhan dhan… “Meri neendon mein khwabon mein aiyee tu”… head turns to right… dhan dhan dhan dhan dhan dhan “tujh ko jo dekha hain to dil mein hain khalbali…dhadka hain dil aise jal bin machali…”… darn loved that song on my music system not on the tele
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I had posted sometime back in the Satya thread and thanks for bringin up Drohi.
It is the pizza base that RGV uses time and again to make a “crime” movie. Drohi was a transformation of a remorseless assassin to a reformed angry young man.
The character sketch for Satya and key plot happenings of Satya too are reused from Drohi.
In a way RGV is the Object Oriented film maker. He is the filmi equivalent of I thad Danny Denzongpa along with Nagarjun. RGV did the job of introducing bollywood talents into tollywood as much as he did vice versa.
He introduced Paresh Rawal in Telugu in Kshanam Kshanam.
He introduced Sharath saxena in Telugu.
He reintroduced Sridevi in Kshanam Kshanam and Govinda Govinda.
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oz
can u delete the last post.
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I think the idea phase of cinema is purely putting instinct over intellect. As matured human beings i believe often an idea or a thread that strikes you might not conform to the general perception of what can be termed as “a cinematic emotion”..gr8 filmmakers often follow an idea or germ sincerely to the point where he believes that its time to start thinking of his idea in the cinematic format.
its when you try mapping that instinct with what you believe would be a good thing to protray on screen early into conceiving a film, that you become an ordinary film-maker.. u repeat yourself.. you turn jaded.. instead its important for filmmakers not to let already formed cinematic principles to influence you in the development of your story..
I think RGV’s downfall can be attributed to him not following an idea sincerely to the point of mapping it in cinematic format. isnt that what we term casually as “playing to the gallery”?? I think yes.. but having said that, i guess having given us films like rangeela, satya and company he has not much left to prove… if self-assesment is not on the horizon we shud probably let him bask in his already formed glory…
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All said and done..RGV had the balls to introduce so many unknowns and that too successfully in Bombay and did not depend on the so-called “established bankable star system”!!
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And yes, I agree with Anurag, on what we can define as plagiarism and what as influence…. Kurosawa was deeply influenced by Ford, Shakespear and Russian Literature…
I think Bergman and Fellini if we were to analyse fastiduously wud have to be the most original makers of cinema… Bergman’s films, it is said were a derivative of the religious and spiritual upbringing he had as a kid and his consequent faith-loss..
and Fellini’s were hugely derived from his dreams and hallucinations..isnt that fascinating??
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pratima,
RGV is introducing PRASHANT RAJ as raj(jai)in RGV KI AAG..of what i know he has no acting experience..has been into modelling though..there are also some new faces in interesting character roles..dont know much about them..
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hi ricky… prashant was one of the two Indian representatives on Amazing Race Asia on AXN. He is quite a promising guy… and i don’t have the second ‘a’ in my name :d
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Jai ganesh
Sharath saxena was intro’ed in tollywood much before RGV. in gang leader. or even before in nirnayam maybe. dont know which one came first.
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Anurag,
Mehboob’s debut was by writin’ lyrics for Hindi version of Bombay.
He was Rahman’s favorite lyricist at one point of time. Then the great sold out of Hindi movie industry made rahman to choose from Javed Saab or from Gulzar saab and now I can hope for next couple of Rahman’s musically ’super-hyped’ albums, Prasoon Joshi will fit the bill.
Regards,
Cubicle Bound Misfit
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my apologies pratim..have taken away the ‘a’..
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Hi,
Well I agree that RGV has changed with times..yet he is (was) the most original hindi movie makers tio my knowledge in recent decade.
I dont agree with anurag kashyap
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nobodys worships nobody here dear mr. khuli teesri aankh, its your frustration,thats speaking, so thy shall be ignored, no where has anurag or any other technicial has ever prcolaimed theemselves,, to be GURUS or whatevr u call them as,Ramu was loaded with IDEAS and passion back during Shiva SATYA and all and i guess he is the only filmaker who has always admitted that he is copied/adapted/inspired,,niways i guess for poor souls like you i have only one advice to this forum ,,,”Bewakoof ke sawwal ka jawab Kahmoshi hai”,, — bathao kaunsi movie,,, guys chill and please ignore the frustartion all da best thirdeyeopen for your magnum opus!!!
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know what in my menu i watch atelast one International cinema everyday!! for today it a french Je vais bien, ne t’en fais pas, an arabic Doc named my country,,and also a korena movie calledWar of Flower!!!
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I will never forget a RGV line. I asked him whether the opening shot of Company was inspired from McKenna’s Gold and he replied: “I have never done anything original. Every single shot in my films is copied from somewhere. I
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LOL! I know that! Now he claims AAG to be his most original film ever!! SKJ reported that! Funny, no?
PRATIM! Loved the interview of Sudeep. His body of work is truly great and he has a profound knowledge of cinema. Pls. check your blog for comments.
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I did reply there CFK aka AR… Sudeep has a great eye… also, bhishon bhalo manush… again another RGV thingy – Road! Should have added here…
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“I asked him whether the opening shot of Company was inspired from McKenna
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RGV IS talented and hence, achieved success; but he is way toooooo intimidated by it!
That’s why our Ray is Ray!! He gained acclaim and success but never got intimidated by it and churned out classics one after another.
Another news today has driven me to ecstasy. The Hitch producers have sued Partner producers. If they win it, Partner prods have to pay $30,000,000! It was required! To stop the Bolly acts from mewing with an arrogantly defensive attitude. Guess how many would be there if everyone sues prods in Bollywood.
A list goes: a) Obviously none other than DVD Gupta. If all of his films are scrutinized then he may have to pay upto $600,000,000. b)Then the entire Bhatt & Co. Can’t believe what they did to the Michael Mann masterpiece and for the fact Unfaithful (Then again, it’s from beloved Anurag who made fantastic [no pun] Gangster) and loads….c) The master of ‘em all who grasped the art of xerox (that too from french) only in his first “effort”: no more FRYing of our BHEJA, please!! The list is unending.
Sotyi! Thog bachhte gaan ujar:d
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in today’s day and age when will smith’s overbrook entertainment has a tie-up with another indian company (utv) you can’t just go and copy-paste his film… this time the rip-off brigade are in real trouble
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Thats great news man.
Hopefully it will work out to improve the state of bollywood films in the long run. By helping original ideas.
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n the strangest bit…david dhawan is making one film with utv also. Now, utv can get them together n have a round tabel conference on plafiarism n more!!
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Pratim! Phoenixnu! Bhavani! – I need your support. Someone here has actually said, “Ray sold poverty”. Please react!
It’s here! http://passionforcinema.com/amitabh-bachchan-the-president-of-india/#comment-34296
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CFK aka AR…thats long name ya. i think thats the beauty of cinema…it means million differnt things to million others. so,let it be.whoever thinks what. why we need to force our pov on everyone. isnt it ?
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RK thinks that! Just see the link and you’ll realise why have I become so incensed.
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Replied CFK to the other post…
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LETS JUST PRAY WE GET OUR OLD RGV BACK!!!!
the one who made movies like satya and shiva.
can anyone tell if any of his forth coming films show light?
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sarkar raj should be interesting ritchick… like the way tadap tadap sounds in darling…
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Darling is gonna ROCK! I have a hunch..
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Hi Pratim
Never thought of RGV like this before…he has given a chance to a lot of actors / technicians and has taken a lot of risks, which not many directors take. Hats off to him for that…
Few years back, I used to eagerly wait for an RGV film but I can’t say that now. I am not at all looking forward to Aag and his last few films have just brought disappointment. I agree with Anuraag when he says that RGV is playing safe. Take the example of Nishabd, I think it would’ve been a much daring and better film if RGV wasn’t bound by the limitations of AB’s image.
Anyways, I am looking forward to Darling, hoping for the old RGV to be back
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Maybe is too late in the day for mw to reply to this post… but am one of the names on the list… one random name that RGV chose to experiment with… and not many have the guts to take a gamble as big as this…
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@satchit – I’d call it guts and gambling if he was making original, experimental, pathbreaking cinema and trying out new concepts, stories and styles with his own money. But when you rehash old movies, and make films that are plain unoriginal, bland, and bad…thats not guts. It’s either idiocy or irresponsible producing.
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Another gem of a post Pratimda.
^:)^^:)^=d>=d>
I kinda forgot RGV post Company.I read your reviews in t2 about his films.Now I know you are one of the most unbiased filmcritics of the country.:)
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Ram Gopal Verma is the greatest director in the industry
agar wo chahe to kisi bhi chalte insan ko star bana sakate he.
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dear sir,
I want to be part of your production company and willing to work with you under your direction.
I am from kanpur height 5′6′,age 22yrs colour fair,good lookking…
kindly give me an opportunity to work under n with you,,if you need my photographs i’ll manage to send it to you.
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Dear sir,,,
I know I am too small and its hard to get chance to work with you. But I have too many stories with which is going to work for you to make a film. My stories are of different kind. Indian cinema had never seen such kind of stories i have.
So hope you will listen me once. I known that I am very small and its hard to get out time for me. But then also i will wait for your positive replay.
Thank You.
Hardik J. Jain
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dear sir,
I want to be part of your production company and willing to work with you under your direction.
I have too many stories with which is going to work for you to make a film. My stories are of different kind. Indian cinema had never seen such kind of stories i have.
So hope you will listen me once.
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