Ram Gopal Varma: In today’s times, you protect passwords more than your life

Director Ram Gopal Varma (RGV), who is known for his unique style of filmmaking, is now gearing up for the release of Saaree, directed by Giri Krishna Kamal. The veteran filmmaker has written the screenplay and is presenting the psychological thriller, which is based on the current dangers of social media and image-sharing platforms.

Talking about the title Saaree, the filmmaker says, “If assaults happen to women, it is easy to say that the girl is dressed provocatively. But even a woman in a conservative dress like a saree can be subjected to the same assault. It proves that it is the mindset of the man and not the attire of a woman.”

'I don’t think there is anything scary than human mind'

“The film is basically about how, when love goes beyond a certain limit, it becomes an obsession and subsequently dangerous. In real life, it takes a long time for people to come together and maintain the progress of a relationship. But in online chats, you quickly develop the relationship without even knowing the background of a person. Imagination becomes a key, and you can easily pretend to be someone else. These are core aspects of Saaree,” RGV states.

Incidentally, it is the very social media which also helped RGV to find Saaree’s female lead whose stage name now goes by Aradhya Devi, a Kottayam native. “Someone forwarded me one of her reels, and that is when I put it on Twitter (X), and asked me to help me track her.”

While RGV has worked in many political dramas and gangster films, RGV says Saaree is a detour from his style and talks about social media relationships. Asked about what perspective the film will be taking, especially when the tag line goes to the effect of ‘When she says no, he takes as yes’, RGV recalls the age-old concept of how women are perceived not to mean what they say. “A man when he has desire, he wants to think that the woman is shy, playing hard to get, or someone is influencing her, rather than getting straight answer from her. Even if she says no, it means yes is what he likes to believe and that can go beyond. The film will talk about obsession becoming dangerous.”

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'I think only cell phones know the real you'

The filmmaker says Saaree is loosely based on an incident that took place in Andhra Pradesh, where a woman felt harassed by a stalking man and was reprimanded by police. “He killed her parents because he thought it was them who was stopping her. Saaree is not exactly based on this, but similar incidents. I don’t think there is anything scary than a human mind.” He also adds that the film does not give a solution but emphasises not to take people just on their face value and to be cautious about trusting people.

Quoting incidents from the past where victim blaming incidents, RGV says often the women are blamed, which he thinks to be “extremely unfair” and that it is the responsibility of society to safeguard women. But when asked about the sexual objectification of women in his films, especially in Saaree, RGV makes a controversial statement, “A woman’s beauty is enjoyable onscreen, but just because of that you cannot make them a victim.”

Concluding the conversation, RGV says, “Even if you look into a close-knit family, I don’t think each other would know what’s on the phone of others. All of us are leading a secret life. I think only cell phones know the real you. It is writing the history of you, as a record.”

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Without naming his actor friend, the filmmaker also recalls the time when the actor’s wife had asked her husband for his phone password. “This guy has no intention of giving it, and said the reason that his phone might have confidential information of his friends and which is why he cannot share it. He said that he cannot let her see his phone because he would feel guilty of revealing his friends’ secrets. I think you will protect your passwords more than your life these days,” the filmmaker says.