::: Factory Products :::. Review on Five Best Films of Ram Gopal Verma

Ram Gopal Verma is undoubtedly one of the most talented filmmakers of our era. It won’t be wrong to consider him God’s gift to Indian cinema merely because he is one of those daring persons who had the guts to change the trend of “A Typical Bollywood Film”. These were the basic ingredients, which were required to make a “good” Bollywood flick - drama, emotion, comedy, lavish sets and loads of songs in between.

His entry into the Bollywood in the early 90’s was like a breath of fresh air as he gave a much-needed relief from all these stereotype films and made a big name for himself in that whole decade. He gave the audiences something new to chew upon, the kind of cinema they had never seen before and which they couldn’t have imagined to see in Bollywood! Without bothering about the box office success of a movie, he made the kind of films that he wanted to.

He has tried his hands almost on every genre from horror to thriller to comedy to gangster movies to even love stories. If you have two hours without much to do, you can just put on any RGV flick and you’ll be hooked. At the end of those two hours you’ll congratulate yourself for putting your time to judicious use. I’ve liked almost all his movies thus; it was very tough for me to choose just five movies, since there are many others, which also deserved to be here. The movies I’ve chosen are in alphabetical order.

~ Company (2002) ~

This isn’t a feel good film like your usual Bollywood flicks. It’s a movie about the workings of underworld and their relations with the reputed politicians & film stars. It’s movie about how a young guy (Vivek Oberoi) is introduced to the world of crime by an underworld don (Ajay Devgan). They expand their empire from Mumbai to Hong Kong and start living a lavish life. But a misunderstanding crops up between the two, leading to an international gang war and thus, bringing an end to their “Company”!

~ Kaun (1998) ~

Can you remember any other Bollywood flick, which was completed with just three actors in a couple of rooms? Kaun is one such daring film, which keeps you gripped right from the beginning till the climax. The three characters have played their role to perfection with Urmila Matondkar being a damsel in distress, Manoj Bajpai who is suspected to be a psychotic killer has brought alive the moronic & irritating character which he was supposed to play and Sushant too has done justice to a short but significant role. Urmila is stuck up alone in her home with two strangers on a stormy night. Does that sound thrilling enough? I consider this movie as one of the best thrillers ever made in Bollywood.

~ Pyar Tune Kya Kiya (2001) ~

This one is a love triangle with a difference. Fardeen Khan is fashion photographer and he discovers a new model Urmila Matondkar who sets fire in the modeling industry with her sizzling photographs. She starts loving him secretly and just before she could propose her love to him enters Sonali Kulkarni – wife of Fardeen Khan. Urmila is shocked & hurt and becomes mentally unstable. This film belongs to Urmila all the way. Her character is sketched in such a way that audience must hate her, but yet she maintains her innocence till the climax and you just can’t help but feel sorry for her, which is quite an unlikely thing to happen with the “other woman” in Bollywood (except Arth).

~ Road (2002) ~

It’s yet once again, a very interesting concept which could only come from Verma Productions. A young madly in love couple (Vivek Oberoi & Antra Mali) can’t marry due to the opposition of Antra’s father, so they decided to run away from Delhi and go to Jodhpur, where they can tie knots. On their way, they give lift to a hitchhiker (Manoj Bajpai), who slowly gets on their nerves and eventually kidnaps the beautiful girl, throwing the hero out of the car. The movie is about how the hero gets his girl back, from a fanatic who has started loving the girl and expects the same affection from her in return! Among all the thrills & chills the movie has its share of comic moments as well, especially when a dig is being made on Sanjay Leela Bhansali!

~ Satya (1998) ~

Satya is an example of not parallel but unparalleled cinema. One of the movies that RGV will always be proud of! It’s a story, which revolves around the underworld life and how an intelligent hero Satya (Chakravarti) decides to join a gang with other criminals like Bhiku (Manoj Bajpai) and contributes to destruction, without caring about morals or ethics (which are considered essential qualities in a Bollywood hero). He becomes a part of many gang wars where more often than not the victims are innocent people. It also tries to give a message that real life villains are a lot different from the Bollywood ones. They aren’t so superficial like Gabbar Singh or Mogambo, who live each minute by violence, but they also have their personal lives & they attend their roles of husbands, fathers or brothers in the same way, as any common man will do!

Out of these five movies although ''Road'' & ''Pyar Tune Kya Kiya'' were not directed by RGV but I have still included them in my list since he was the producer of these flicks and they were considered a factory product!

© Tanmay Singh, 2005