J D Chakravarthy on what Ram Gopal Varma told him after the recent Satya screening while in tears, "He said, 'I'm ashamed of myself because this is what I made once and look at what I did later'"

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya was re-released in cinemas last week. Starring JD Chakravarthy, Manoj Bajpayee, Urmila Matondkar, Shefali Shah and Saurabh Shukla among others, the team attended a special screening of the film a couple of days before the re-release. JD Chakravarthy spoke about the experience of watching Satya again in an interview with us.What do you have to say about the lingering impact of Satya?Actually, the impact of Satya, well I think I need to change the timelines. I would initially like to start with what happened after the show which happened on 15th January for the re-release of Satya. I've been associated with Ramuji from Shiva. I've been his assistant. He's produced about 36 films with me. I directed 12 films for him. I edited .... blah blah blah blah blah blah... we can go on. The point is, I've never seen him, and I know this is a very strong statement, I've never seen him even crying when his father passed away. But as the special screening of Satya got finished and done, he was crying and of course this is the first time we hugged each other and then he started saying something very interesting, which why I said I need to change the timeline.What did he say?He said, these are his words, he said, ‘I'm ashamed of myself because this is what I made once and look at what I did later’. This is something what he said about me... he said Chakri’s introduction of Satya. He said I didn't shoot; he didn't shoot that introduction part. He said, ‘I'm surprised I'm sad that how did I not notice that you were brilliant in the film’.What was your reaction?I said, ‘Sir, I just want to tell you something Ramuji, this is a hurt from the past 27 years I've been carrying; this big lump in my heart because the whole world said I was good, fantastic, superb blah blah blah blah blah blah but it took you 27 years Ramuji to acknowledge my performance.’ I always thought just because of the aggressive nature of the character Bhiku Matre, I played it Satya very quietly. When I walk out of the, if you remember that Subhashji, I walk out of VT station.... anyone who walks into Bombay for the first time, the first thing they would come out of the station and look at is high buildings and but I didn't look at anything, I just kept walking....Ramuji said, ‘When someone comes out, he looks for transportation, he would take an auto rickshaw, taxi or probably a bus...they would have some destination, but you just droop down your shoulders and even, you know, in the very walk you can see that you don't have any destination. He said, ‘If I had a chance to do it again, I would have looked, I would have asked you to look around, look around those, you know, big buildings and look around because the first time you are coming to but the way you performed...’ And then he started saying all those scenes.What has been the impact of Satya on your career?Every actor in the film was told like dekho yeh aapka scene hai, matlab yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh hone wala hai. Aap logon ko jo sahi lagta hai, you know, jaise if you can just perform.... Ramu ji would say, ‘Main idhar udhar jo mujhe chahiye main bata doonga’. So, everyone was told, you know these are the rough lines. If you want to improvise, it's okay but I was the only one in the entire set was told to do nothing.Told to do nothing is actually the best instruction for an actorThat's so difficult, that's so difficult and I'm basically I am, you know, an extreme extrovert. I had to make sure my character Satya should not look dull, he should not look like, should look like a guy who's silent but extremely focused. I was constantly reminded on the sets ki Yaar aapko kuch nahin karne ka hai. Just understand the entire world around me.... Satya has got only one job to do and I'm supposed to do nothing. It was a challenge, though it took 27 years for Ramuji to give me that compliment. It means a lot to me.Yes, what I noticed was your stillnessThere is a scene where Guru Narayan (Raju Mavani) walks out of the airport, and we are planning to kill him and Bhikhu Mhatre is standing beside a tree and I'm sitting in a car. So, Guru Narayan’s van car passes by and then I get down from the car and I was told to stand beside Manoj because I'm Satya. I said no just because I'm playing Satya I have to come and stand beside him because the focus would be in the centre. I said, no technically, logically if I am walking and coming towards Manoj, there is only a space to stand to the left edge of the camera. I was just standing there, and I was not even you know I was not even putting an effort to be seen. Now that's a difficult thing. Satya was not my first film. I was already a very big star down South. So, for me my whole journey in the South was only to be in the focus and this was so difficult to be in out of focus. So, the impact for me started then and there.You were not only in character but also a part of the technical teamI was majorly part of the editing team. So, then I was also the in charge for the post-production, complete sound and everything, the complete post-production of Satya in all the three languages. So Ramuji told me a big good-bad news. He said, ‘Chakri, I don't want to use a background score for your one-liners.’ Now imagine Subhashji, actors ko shayad back of the mind na subconsciously kahin na kahin lagta hai ki agar if I do this then there will be a sound effect on me or the music comes. So, you know that will enhance the performance.So, first and foremost I was the only actor who've been told not to do anything and second by choice I decided ki main out focus mein rahunga kyunki though I was told to come into focus. I said position mein rahunga. And thirdly, Ramuji told me after the very first schedule this is what I want to do. So, there was going to be no music or background score or an effect on me. So, this was not an easy thing to do. Initially it was a little difficult to come in terms with this but I thought, nahin, this is like a fixed deposit. This will probably take time, but it will be there for you know in a long run this will definitely work. And then I need to specially mention about this which I confessed recently when Ramuji ko bhi main nahi bataya.Please tellWhen we are doing the climax, Ramuji told me, ‘Chakri dekh climax mein roughly this is what I'm thinking.’ I've been his assistant, associate and also chief AD. So, generally a day before or two days before he generally tells me aisa aisa soch raha hoon. Then he told me, ‘Dekh Chakri, in the climax I don't want you to use any method acting theek hai? Toh hum kal shoot karne ja rahe hain.’ So, whatever you know there and then and there we feel we'll just do it. I said done sir. So, we went next day and then whatever the climax you have seen now is there. But now I've called my steadicam operator at the re-release. His name is Nitin Rao. He is one of the best. So, I said to Nitin, ‘I think it's time we confess the truth to Ramuji’.Actually I had planned out my entire performance much before because Ramuji doesn't like those like falling down and then struggling to get up. All that unko lagta hai thoda woh melodramatic ho jayega. As an assistant more than an actor, I would know that. So, what I did was to take my steadicam operator into confidence about what I was going to do and how he has to capture we have rehearsed it. The truth is, we have rehearsed but in front of Ramuji pretended as if aa aap idhar aana. Aap na ek this is this is what you need to do. Ramuji is he okay? He said ya ya ya he is okay. Because I would exactly know if Ramuji would like it or not as I said being his assistant.Did you ever expect Satya make such an impact?To be very honest, none of us, including Ramuji, saw this coming. See, every film the filmmaker generally thinks that this film is going to be super-duper hit. But well, while we were making Satya, all we thought and knew was that we're making a good film, yeah that was for sure. How good? Absolutely no idea. And there is something else which you know I have to tell you.Tell?(During) Golimaar bheje mein, suddenly something happened. Our cameraman was from America, Gerard Hooper. His visa got expired and he had to rush back. So, this all happened around 11.30 in the evening and next day we already called for the shoot and Ahmed Khan was supposed to be the choreographer. The whole unit is there, everything is there, and we introduced the new cameraman: Ramuji himself and I was the choreographer for ‘Goli maar bheje mein’. Jo mann mein aaya wohi toh film hai .... this is all what we believed during the entire shooting. None of us knew that it's going to be a super-duper hit or a cult film. But we all knew for sure sir ki haan this is going to be a great film. So, that's the impact of Satya for me, sir.Also Read: Ram Gopal Varma on being in tears after watching Satya more than 25 years later, “I forgot to look down at the garden I’d planted beneath my feet, and that explains my fall from grace”