"Media is more obsessed than me about underworld" - RGV

In Bollywood, no other filmmaker has made as many films about gangsters and underworld than Ram Gopal Varma. From Satya and Satya 2, he has built quite some repertoire for himself in this genre, some flattering and some ordinary. However, the maverick director continues to keep his chin up and is relentless in his unveiling of films.

In Satya 2, while you are exploring the inner world and psyche of the underworld due to your extensive research and interest level, how do you seek a similar interest level amongst the audience as well?
When someone asked me whether I am obsessed with the underworld, I said ’Yes, I am’, and I added ’But not more than the media’. That’s because people in general have a morbid curiosity to know about criminal minds and films. Fiction novels and media have been catering to that since forever.

While doing so, aren’t you apprehensive around finding yourself in the line of fire from the underworld since you are challenging their very essence and positioning?
Satya 2 is not a statement on them but it is about a character who studied them to form his opinions on them, that’s about it.

How did you finalize newcomer Punit Singh Ratn as Satya though?
When I conceptualized the character, I was asking around a few assistants and some writers and one of them sent Punit to me. The moment I met him, the first thing that struck me were his eyes and his voice.

I am sure there was a particular acting streak that you would have been looking in a man playing the central protagonist. What really was that and to what extent has Punit managed to explore that streak?
Punit is what is generally described as a method actor. He is extremely intense and that too in every kind of emotion ranging from rage to love. I would say he literally lived the part.

Mahesh Babu did something similar in last year’s Telugu blockbuster Business Man which had a similar pretext. Have you actually worked on a similar premise and set up for Satya 2?
No, this story absolutely has no similarity to that film.