After helming a series of biopics in recent times such as Veerappan, Vangaveeti and Lakshmi’s NTR, veteran filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is now working on a web series based on the Mumbai underworld, also referred to as D-Company.
This will be Varma’s first effort at a web series, and will be loosely based on the life of elusive mafia don Dawood Ibrahim between the early 1980s till the 1993 blasts, which Ibrahim is accused of orchestrating. The critically-acclaimed Company, directed by Varma in 2002 and starring Ajay Devgn and Vivek Oberoi, was also based on Ibrahim’s life.
Speaking to The Hindu here on Friday, Varma said that the web series would be a definitive chronicle of the Mumbai underworld. “I have gathered a large amount of research material on the subject over the last two decades, and only a web series can do justice to it,” Varma said.
The maverick filmmaker was in the city to promote his latest film Beautiful, starring Parth Suri and Naina Ganguli and directed by Agasthya Manju. The film releases on January 1. “It is a conceptual sequel to my earlier musical-romantic hit Rangeela, which starred Aamir Khan and Urmila Matondkar,” Varma said.
“I wanted to take a break from my usual genres of crime, murder and gangster films. This is going to be a musical-romantic film,” he said.
The cast is fresh and so is the director and the music is also going to be different, Varma said.
Vizag as film hub
Asked about Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s proposal to have three capitals for the State, Varma said: “I do not believe in capitals. Wherever it (the capital) is located, it will have the same function, so it does not make any difference even if the capital is located in Anakapalle.”
The filmmaker said that Visakhapatnam had the potential to become a hub for filmmaking.
“Though I am not in favour of concentrating any industry at one place and call it a hub, the city is blessed with natural splendour,” Varma said.
Natty Kumar, joint secretary of AP Producers Council, who was present, said that the film fraternity is happy with the decision to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital, as this would give a boost to tourism and the film industry in Andhra Pradesh.
“Way back in 2014, the film fraternity had submitted a representation to the Sivaramakrishna Committee to make Vizag the capital. The city is blessed with natural beauty. It has hills, beaches and forests. Moreover, it enjoys excellent connectivity and has good hotels. Any tourist destination is no more than a two to three-hour drive away,” he said.
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