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Aug 04, 2024 09:47 AM IST
Unlike Kamal Haasan and Naseeruddin Shah, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has a different take on the 2023 film The Kerala Story, which divided public opinion.
Adah Sharma-starrer The Kerala Story, which hit theatres last year, told the story of a group of women from Kerala who were allegedly forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS. In a new interview with Galatta Plus, Ram Gopal Varma praised the film that was slammed by many for vested interests and trying to create division in society. He said ‘The Kerala Story made over ₹300 crore’ at the box office, but another film from from the same director-producer-actor, Bastar: The Naxal Story, was ‘ignored’ by everyone. Also read: Kamal Haasan calls The Kerala Story a propaganda film
‘All my hit films are accidents’
Ram Gopal Varma said, “Long time back, (music composer) AR Rahman told me one that when he’s making a tune, he thinks that it’ll be the blockbuster of the year. But when the song comes out, people ignore it. They don’t even call it bad, they pretend like it doesn’t even exist… there are umpteen examples to prove this. In my own case, all my hit films are accidents, and my flops are intentional because I put in the same effort.”
‘One of the best films I’ve seen in many years’
Further explaining this with an example, he said that The Kerala Story is one of the best films that he has seen in years, but he was shocked to learn that the same team made a follow-up that didn’t work.
Ram Gopal Varma said, “I was very, very happy with this film, The Kerala Story. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen in many years. I spoke to the director (Sudipto Sen), I spoke to the producer (Vipul Shah), I spoke to the actress (Adah Sharma). Then, I was shocked to know that the next film (Bastar: The Naxal Story) came, released, and went, and I wasn’t even aware of it… it comes and everyone ignores it…. how do you explain it.”
The Kerala Story collected ₹302 crore worldwide, as per a 2023 report by Sacnilk.com. It drew sharp reactions from many celebs after its release. Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah had reacted to the film’s box office success and called it a ‘dangerous trend’.
