RGV Blog

1. Even your stupid comments seem to have a profound philosophical meaning.

Ans: That’s because every seeming stupidity has its own philosophy and every philosophy has it’s own stupidity and there are stupid’s who some think are philosophers and there are philosophers who some think are stupid’s, and yes, there are also stupid philosophers along with philosophically stupid people.

2. What do you feel when somebody praises or criticizes you?

Ans: Both praise and criticism don’t matter to me because I already know what I am and what I am not and I also know the reasons for the same. Most of the time people who both praise or criticize me, do it for the wrong reasons or for reasons sometimes beyond my conscious control. What does matter to me are the insights and knowledge pertaining to a particular subject matter that anybody could give me.

3. I liked the background music in ‘RANN’ of the “Yada Yada Dharmasya” piece when in the end Amitabh Bachchan puts his hand on Ritiesh’s shoulder. How did you get the idea?

Ans: It is my favourite too. That was the music directors Dharam and Sandeep’s idea.

4. Isn’t cinema a medium where we can tell stories in an innovative manner?

Ans: That’s a good question. For me that is the truth as I am fascinated by the use of the various aspects of the medium to convey a given emotion. But for many especially unimaginative people that does not seem to be the case. So I guess a proper mix of the both is what is required to result in a so-called “good film”.

5. If Ayn Rand wrote “The Fountainhead”, Nietzsche wrote “Zarathustra”, you are writing RGVzoomin.com and I mean this from my heart.

Ans: Well, Arun, all I am writing in here is about the fantastic pieces of wisdom I picked up not only from those two but also from a host of many others including Satyendra, Mad magazine etc and also can you please give my wisdom on this blog a better name than a boring RGVzoomin.com (something ala “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”) pleeeeeeeeeeeease.

6. What were Satyendra’s thoughts on religion?

Ans: He never wasted his time on thinking inane and insipid things.

7. What are your ten top sound tracks?

Ans: Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” – Wolzeich Kilar

The Portrait of a Lady – Wolzeich Kilar

Alexander – Vangelis

The Passion of Christ – John Dehney

Exorcist II – Ennio Morricone

The Omen         – Jerry Goldsmith

Traitor  – Mark Kilian

Gladiator –Hans Zimmer

Black Sunday – John Williams

Enter the Dragon       – Lalo Schifrin

8. How did you get the idea of Bharani whispering “Shiva” in Raghuvaran’s ear?

Ans: I have something known as the brain between my ears which obviously you don’t have for asking such a stupidiotic question.

9. Why do your heroes always look serious?

Ans: Because I like serious people.

10. How did you reach the clarity of explaining your film shot by shot to your assistants?

Ans: I used to have a habit of narrating the films I have seen during my college days shot by shot to my friends. I guess I picked it from there.

11. Is “Shiva” bigger than you?

Ans: Anybody’s work will always be bigger than the worker and thereafter the worker remains a mere identity and it’s only the work which will create both the influence and the impact.

12. If you are on a raft and it can hold only one person and you see a person drowning, what would you do?

Ans: I will continue sailing unless the person drowning is Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, Satyendra or Sridevi.

13. Your life took a turn when you met Satyendra. But who could have he met?

Ans: Maybe someone like me.

14. I read Fountainhead but I am not able to finish Atlas Shrugged. Why?

Ans: It could be your intelligence limitations or it could be your limitless intelligence which would have realized what the rest of the book would be about. But I think it is the former since the very fact that you asked this question proves that you don’t have realization power.

15. People don’t have a problem with a Baba cheating gullible devotees but they have problems if he has sex.

Ans: Wonderful observation.

16. My husband is a mad fan of yours. If you want to marry him he will agree in a second.

Ans: Tina, of all the accusations and allegations on me there is one thing I truly seriously think nobody will ever ever have a doubt about, and that is regarding my sexual orientation.

17. I am truly in love with you and I am not gay.

Ans: I love you too.

18. I don’t know the ABCD of filmmaking but you are my inspiration.

Ans: I too started not knowing ABCD. Just make sure that your inspirations are films and not directors.

19. How do you deal with the intense pain of making your own mistakes?

Ans: Instead of wasting time on feeling the pain I use my time to understand the source of that mistake and convert it into knowledge for future use.

20. I think you are a non-resident American living in India. How come you don’t like anything except English movies and English books?

Ans: It’s not countries but its superior intelligence that I go for. If in you I find more intelligence than what I have seen with the westerners I will come to even your land. But going by the intelligence you exposed in your observations I am sure I would be spared the journey to that great land that produced you. So you please remain in your la la land and when I am flying to America I will wave out to you.

21. You pretend to be somebody else which you are not.

Ans: I am somebody else to somebody else because somebody else will always be a somebody else to somebody else.

22. Why the fuck do you and some guys here comment on marriage saying things like it ends all the fun. I think you guys don’t have a proper understanding.

Ans: Or maybe we don’t have your wife.

23. I think “Satya” and “Company” were more watchable than “Avatar”. Don’t sell yourself short.

Ans: Well, it’s because of mediocrities like you that mediocrities like me are still able to make mediocre films and get away with it. I promise to God that as long as he promises to keep making people like you, I will keep making my mediocre films and as an extra additional special bonus I will pray at his temple, I will get married, I will love my country, I will get up early in the morning, I will stop having vodka, I will treat all women as my sisters and I will also join some Mother Theresa’s or Father Boresa’s welfare organization.

24. How did you shoot that scene in Phoonk where the camera goes in circles around the little girl as she walks in to the school?

Ans: The steadicam operator was on an attachment called the segway which has wheels and is operated with the swaying movement of his body back and forth. The same was used for the inside the classroom shot where the camera moves crazily around as the girl is writing her exam. It is a really wonderful piece of equipment which has not been put to noticeable use so far.

P.S: I am posting that sequence I have shot with the segway in “PHOONK” in here.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1doWGKg0Sg