• By Tanya Garg
  • Thu, 05 Jun 2025 01:14 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Ram Gopal Varma has contributed an honest viewpoint to the discussion of South Indian cinema's early development by asserting that remakes of Amitabh Bachchan's classic Hindi films were largely responsible for the genre's popularity in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ram Gopal Varma claimed that the Bollywood star's work with IndiaTV Showbiz had a significant impact on the four main Southern industries of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Ram Gopal Varma especially mentioned actors like Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and NT Rama Rao being benefited by this tendency, pointing out that many of their pivotal roles were remakes of Amitabh Bachchan's well-known performances. He claimed that these remakes had a direct role in their stardom as cultural icons and, ultimately, almost legendary characters among fans.

Ram Gopal Varma said, "In the beginning, the entire South, all four languages, were remaking Amitabh Bachchan films. Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, NT Rama Rao and Rajkumar were making remakes of Bachchan’s films of the '70s and '80s. Then, in the '90s, Mr Bachchan took a long five-year break."

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The South Indian industries remained loyal to the mass-entertainment format, continuing to produce 'masala' films based on Amitabh Bachchan's earlier style, while Bollywood entered a phase where music labels began financing films primarily to promote their soundtracks. The filmmaker added, "At the same time, coincidentally, the music companies entered the scene. They made films just to sell their music. That's when movies like Maine Pyar Kiya came out. But the South never stopped making the so-called masala films, which they picked up from Bachchan. That’s how those stars became big demigods. It continues to date."

Ram Gopal Varma implied that this steady strategy was essential to securing the fame of prominent South actors. He suggested that the remakes weren't just copies but rather platforms for local celebrities to rise to fame and finally become 'demigods.'

Ram Gopal Varma claimed that because of their urban upbringing and command of English, the young Bollywood filmmakers at the time started seeing more foreign films. "If you observe, most commercial directors in the South are very less exposed to cinema. They can’t talk about cinema like we do. They’re very close to the ground root," he continued.

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Ram Gopal Varma also shared a remarkable anecdote from the period before Sukumar's Pushpa: The Rise, starring Allu Arjun, was released. A producer, whom he would not name, he claimed, had seen the movie a few days before its premiere and had serious concerns about how it would be received. Since the role chewed paan rather than conforming to the typical six-pack-hero stereotype, Varma claims that the producer foresaw that viewers would reject the movie outright, not because of the actor's performance.