Ram Gopal Varma on how he tried to capture Bruce Lee’s spirit in Ladki: Enter the Girl Dragon

Ram Gopal Varma’s latest directorial is ambitious, to say the least, and is already making waves ahead of its release. Ladki: Enter the Girl Dragon is touted to be India’s first martial arts film and the director recently opened up about his passion project.

In conversation with IANS, Varma opened up about how he envisioned the film as a tribute to one of the greatest martial arts legends of all time, Bruce Lee, who the filmmaker had been fascinated with for a long time. He adds that it wasn't ‘just the late star’s fighting prowess that earned his admiration, but rather Lee’s ‘immortal spirit’ which stretched beyond the sport. He also states that in his upcoming film the protagonist is a woman as he felt no man could match Lee’s charisma.

Varma also reveals how Lee’s films had inspired his early works like 1990’s Shiva, which he calls a ‘rip off of a Bruce Lee film, minus the martial arts’.

Regarding the stories he is interested in as a filmmaker, Varma said that normal and conventional stories always bored him and that he was always on the lookout for darker themes to explore in his projects.

Ladki: Enter the Girl Dragon had made headlines recently after becoming the first Hindi film to have its trailer screened at the Burj Khalifa. It is also the first Indian film to be a joint production with China.

The upcoming film stars Pooja Bhalekar as the eponymous protagonist.

Ladki: Enter the Girl Dragon will be released in theatres on December 10. The film’s global theatrical release will also include China, where the film will be screened under the title of Dragon Girl. The film’s Telugu title is Ammayi.