Ram Gopal Varma lashes out at Indian filmmakers, says they think audiences are ‘fools’; compares Oppenheimer to ‘Thugs of Hindostan’

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma never shies away from sharing his opinions about filmmaking, cinema, society or politics. Similarly, recently he took a dig at Indian directors for thinking that the audience is ‘fool’. He also said that when the top talents of Hollywood come together, they make something excellent like Oppenheimer, but when the top talents of Indian cinema come together, they make Thugs of Hindostan.

In an interview to Galata Plus, Ram Gopal Varma criticized Indian directors. He said that Hollywood filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood make movies even in their old age.

“When you talk about Scorsese or Clint Eastwood, the kind of realism and impact you talk about… they take up (interesting) subjects and deliver great performances. More than anything else, it is their personal perspective that reflects in their films,” Varma said.

He also drew parallels with Indian filmmakers and said that Indian directors do not make such movies and consider the audience to be fools.

“The kind of cinema they make, and the standard there… imagine what the standard is here. All the big (Hollywood) stars come together and make Oppenheimer. And here, all the big stars come together, and they make Thugs of Hindostan,” Varma said.

The filmmaker also praised Aamir Khan for choosing films targeting different audiences at the same time. The 62-year-old director said Khan can make films like Ghajini and Tare Zameen Par at the same time and has a great understanding. He also praised Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who directed Kabir Singh and Animal, for making films that were not made before.

At the Pinkvilla Masterclass, Manoj Bajpayee was asked to talk about director-producer Ram Gopal Varma’s contribution to his film journey and the actor promptly replied, “Actually his part is the biggest. Ram Gopal Varma actually made my career. Before that, I either did small roles, or worked in serials.”

Meanwhile, Varma, who began his career as a film director in 1989 with the Telugu film Shiva, went on to direct several iconic films such as Rangeela, Satya, Kaun, Jungle, Company, Bhoot, Sarkar, Rakt Charitra 1 and Rakt Charitra 2.