Ram Gopal Varma on His Collaboration With Mohit Suri: ‘The Film Will Start Very Soon’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Ram Gopal Varma is on a roll. He is about to wrap up his gritty cop thriller, “Police Company,” when reports of an unlikely collaboration with Mohit Suri surface. So, how did that happen?

You and Mohit Suri are like sambhar with vada-pao. How did this collab happen?

Actually, that’s a very likable food combination. As for what brings Mohit Suri and me together - he likes my work and I loved “Saiyaara.” 

‘Saiyaara’ is different from the cinema you are associated with. Did you really like it? 

Yes! Why is that surprising? I am not only about guns and gangsters. I made “Rangeela,” remember? I loved “Saiyaara” and told Mohit Suri that when we met through my friend Makarand Deshpande. Then we met a second time, again with Makarand, and I just happened to narrate a script I had. Mohit fell in love with it and said he wanted to make it. That’s it.

Does it come with good remuneration?

I am on board as an executive producer, so for once I hope to make some money.

Is this film going to be a departure from your habitual gangster movies?

That makes me sound like James Bond. This too is a gangster film, and Mohit, too, has made gangster films. But this time it is a gangster film with a difference.

Could you share more about the project?

How do I explain without giving away the plot? It’s like Stephen Spielberg making Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” or Coppola making Spielberg’s “Jaws.” Basically, both the filmmakers are quite capable of making both the classics. But still, what would it be like if there was a swap?

So, Mohit Suri will be making a Ram Gopal Varma-style film?

One could say that. But we are not really as distanced from one another in style and treatment as people think.

When does this project start?

Very soon. Mohit has to first lock in the cast. He hasn’t told me whom he has in mind. I am busy completing “Police Company.” We wrap up in October. Harshvardhan Rane will take the nation by storm.