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Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag : Some facts
30th Aug 2007 23.09 IST
By Nikhil Kumar

Ram Gopal Varma’s judgment day is round the corner. His much debated and controversial remake of cult Hindi movie Sholay is hitting the theatres on Friday.

Much water has flown down the bridge since Ram Gopal Varma first shocked the movie world with his decision to remake the bible of Hindi cinema, Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay .

Although Ramu faced downright criticism from many people – from Ramesh Sippy to Jaya Bachchan , Dharmendra and Hema Malini – Ramu had Amitabh Bachchan on his side. Then there was a legal battle between Ramu and Sascha Sippy over the film’s copyright issue. Ramu lost the battle and omitted the word Sholay from the movie’s title and changed the characters’ names (from Veeru to Heero and Gabbar to Babban).

As the film is ready to release on August 31, here are some interesting tidbits about Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag .

CAST RESHUFFLE

In the beginning, Ramu thought of signing Abhishek Bachchan for the role of the jocular Heero in the film. But there was a problem. He had already decided to cast Amitabh Bachchan as Gabbar Singh. And he could not envisage Abhishek fighting with Big B in the movie’s climax.

After dismissing Abhishek, Ramu then approached Saif Ali Khan with the offer to play Heero. But Saif did not have the dates to spare. Eventually Ajay Devgan was roped in for the part.

Initially, Ramu had finalized Mohit Ahlawat to play the silent and brooding Jai. But as the script kept on evolving, Ramu realized that Mohit did not suit the role. In his place, newcomer Prashant Raj was roped in. Even the character’s name was changed from Jai to Raj.

AJAY, NISHA GET STEAMY

Nisha Kothari , Ramu’s blue-eyed gal, plays the role of Ghungru, an autorickshaw driver. Nisha, who is paired with Ajay, shot a very sensuous number Chhaa Raha with the actor. Quite interestingly, the song has more skin show by Devgan than by Nisha. Ramu shot the song in a very novel way.

“It’s one of the most arresting songs of my career. I have tried to capture different images with each image creating a different emotion,” says Ramu about the song.

THE RAJNIKANT ANGLE

The movie also has a Rajnikant angle. Nisha’s character Ghungru is shown as a big fan of Rajnikant. She has a big poster of the superstar inside her autorickshaw and she even imitates Rajnikant’s style of action and physical movements. Incidentally, in real life, too, Nisha is a huge fan of Rajnikant.

WHEN MOHANLAL DANCED

South superstar Mohanlal plays the role of Narsimha (akin to Thakur). Instead of his hands, Babban Singh only cuts his fingers in the film. There is another thing different in Ramu’s film. There is a song in which Narsimha is shown drinking bhang and then dancing.

However, Mohanlal is not really known for his dancing skills. Choreographer Shabeena Khan worked out some real Indian dance steps for him. After initial hesitation, Mohanlal did get into the groove and showed his dance skills. Everyone from Shabeena to Ramu was impressed.

The movie also features Sushmita Sen as the widow Durga. Although she doesn’t have many dialogues, there is a muted aggression to her character.

And by the way, Ramu has called ‘RGV Ki Aag’ his “most original work” till date. Quite amusing. Isn’t it?

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