Are you bothered by Ram Gopal Varma's bad personal ethics?

Babita Basu
28 February 2013, 05:53 PM IST

The year was 2008. The month was December. Film director Ram Gopal Varma took what was widely understood and interpreted as a terror tour, barely two weeks after ISI-trained terrorists left Mumbai's heritage Taj hotel desecrated, devastated – making it the venue of a carnage that found widespread coverage across TV channels around the world.

Talking of 26/11, the attack was a first-timer in many aspects – to begin with, it was a high-end heritage property that these human vermin chose to destroy. Second, the targeting of a five-star property clearly proves their aiming at high-profile, upmarket victims, especially American citizens who were visiting India at the time. The siege of Chabad House also clearly pointed to animosity towards Israelites.

In those two weeks after the attack, India learnt a lot. For once, we learnt that it was not just public or tourist spots, but also targets that boast of high security deployments which could be successfully targeted and destroyed. We also learnt the hard way that live TV coverage of events like terror attacks need to be censored in a country like ours where the lure of TRPs and the moolah could override national security concerns. What a shame it was when we learnt, in the weeks to come, how live coverage by NDTV helped guide terrorist strategies being cooked in the ISI control room. And just when we Indians were coming to terms with those learnings, we saw one Ram Gopal Varma towing himself along behind erstwhile chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his actor son Riteish to check out the scene once the terrorists had been snuffed out by our defence forces.

Why does V. Deshmukh have access? Because he's the chief minister in office at the time. How does Riteish follow close on his heels? Because he was at that point in time, son of the chief minister in office and yes, you can do that in India – become a part of the official entourage, I mean. And how does RGV tow himself along? Because of his excellent understanding with Mr Chief Minister and Mr Actor. Woo-hoo, here's me thumbing my nose at you, he seemed to say, even as the media and Mumbai-ites bayed for his blood for making light of an issue as grave as the terror attack. I remember a protestor carrying a placard that said: Deshmurkh, a film by Ram Gopal Varma, at a time when V. Deshmukh was himself under fire for bad handling of the national crisis. So RGV came up with an official reply. What did he say? I remember those words very clearly, although most of us may have conveniently forgotten it. He had said he had no intention of offending people's sentiments by taking the "terror tour" because he had no commercial intentions around the same. He had called it a promise. He had also said the Taj attack is not going to be a theme in any forthcoming films of his and that given a chance, who could resist the offer of a "terror tour" and that is why he did what he did – he was driven by curiosity and nothing else.

A little more than four years later, he flamboyantly breaks his "promise". He does exactly what he said he wouldn't do – make a film replete with the spice of the 26/11 terror attack. He also brazenly titles it The Attacks of 26/11 and publicises it as "a Hindi crime-thriller based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks." (Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Attacks_of_26/11)

The fact that RGV simply doesn't care clearly shows his lack of sensitivity and love for sensationalism. There may be many of us who've forgotten what happened during those days when we were on the tenterhooks, but not so the victims and their families who would not perceive this move lightly.

There are two concerns here – the aspect of commercialisation and that of aesthetic liberties. RGV has the aesthetic liberty to depict life, and reality as he sees it. I give it to him that it's his duty as an artist to share his views. Also, I'm aware that this very act of his makes him open to commercialisation of the issue – his aesthetic creation comes with its own business intentions and baggage thereof. I notice that he has no qualms about using a Kasab lookalike too. Which means please expect him to make the best of the "terror tour" that he once took four and a half years ago. Are you expecting a superhit? Yes, given the tremendous curiosity of those of us who never took that "terror tour". And will I watch the film? Sadly, yes – simply because of voyeuristic reasons, because I wasn't part of that "terror tour". And most people making this film a superhit will probably agree. Is RGV using his clout to his advantage? Well, of course he is. But I will never forgive him for lying – for actually commercialing a situation that touched the raw nerve of millions. The artist – could have been honest – to say the least.