“Near perfect” and don’t require a remake, says Ram Gopal Varma on Rangeela

Director Ram Gopal Varma has plenty of the good, the bad and the ugly in his filmography, but Rangeela and Satya are his only films that the filmmaker believes are “near perfect” and don’t require a remake.

Varma, also known by his initials RGV, has fond memories of shooting the 1995 romantic drama, starring Urmila Matondkar as Mili, a backup dancer aspiring to become an actor, Aamir Khan as her ‘tapori’ friend Munna and Jackie Shroff as Bollywood star Raj Kamal who takes a shine to her.

The director said other than changing some photographic aspects and edit points, he would not retouch Satya (1998) and Rangeela, which also happen to be the most celebrated ones in his career.

“Honestly speaking, in all the films that I made in my career and there are plenty of them, I feel I could not have made Rangeela and Satya better than what they are. Rangeela and Satya were near perfect, so I



don’t think I would make them again,” Ram Gopal Varma told PTI in an interview.

The film, he said, was an ode to Urmila Matondkar’s beauty.

“She worked in my Telugu film Gaayam and when I saw her dancing, I felt mesmerised. In fact, she is the main reason why I was inspired to make the film. It was to capture her beauty,” he said of the actor who also worked with the director in Daud, Satya, Mast, Jungle, and Bhoot.

Ram Gopal Varma said even today when he meets women who were born after the film released, they admire the film for the manner in which it showcases a woman’s beauty and that’s the best compliment for him.

From story, acting, costumes to music, the film is one of those rare ’90s gem that has remained fresh in the memory of the audience. It was quite a sensation upon its release and marked the Hindi movie debut of Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman.