Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is back with his upcoming movie D Company

Mona

Crime thrillers are nothing new to filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma and by the end of March, one can witness another of his outings in the underworld — D Company. As the title suggests, the film is based around one of the most dreaded underworld dons — Dawood Ibrahim, and the rise of a street gang into an international syndicate.

“I compare myself to a naturalist who is out to study wild animals. Just that quest doesn’t make me one though! But what I am interested in is what goes behind the scenes,” says Varma, something that he is out to explore with D Company. He is not the one to label criminals as bad or monstrous just like that. “I would rather study the circumstances that sent someone down the criminal lane; only if we know the reasons, we can find the solutions.”

Real touch

Starting his career with films like Satya and later Company, based on the Mumbai underworld, Varma insists that D Company would present an entirely new canvas. While his earlier silver screen outings were fictionalised accounts of newspaper stories and information gathered from crime reporters, here is the rise of a real don from Dongri. “It’s the real story of the D company,” offers Varma, who also intends to capture this 35-year-long story in a web series soon.

D company sees a theatrical release despite the restrictions coming into play once again. “One would wish things were different, but they are as they are and one has got to take the call.” The pandemic sure has changed the way we live and Varma hasn’t been left untouched. “I feel that the pandemic has made me a better person. I had more time to reflect, catch up on films and read,” he opines.

Little value

Known for speaking his mind, the director of super-hit film Rangeela doesn’t see the need to change despite the social media, where anything and everything can be blown out of proportion in a matter of minutes. “Social media has shown that people have lots of free time, not only in our country but all over the world. Much of it holds little value.”

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