Trust
Ram
Gopal
Varma
to
allow
a
joke
on
himself
time
and
again.
He
was
the
last
man
standing
and
came
up
with
a
big
laugh
even
as
his
Aag
was
a
butt
of
jokes
for
months
at
stretch.
The
jokes
ended
after
a
while
but
he
never
stopped
laughing.
So
much
so
that
in
every
major
conversation
with
them,
the
topic
of
Aag
invariably
comes
up
and
Ramu
too
doesn't
mind
giving
a
byte
or
two
on
the
making
and
the
subsequent
destruction
of
Aag.
No
wonder,
due
to
the
very
fact
that
he
was
laughing
on
his
own
work
(Aag,
Shiva
-
the
new
one
-
and
some
more
films)
meant
that
detractors
had
to
find
a
new
way
to
hit
back
on
the
filmmaker
who
doesn't
mind
taking
a
dig
on
films
by
other
people
as
well.
While
his
sweet
and
sour
war
of
words
with
Karan
Johar
comes
with
an
ability
of
creating
front
page
headlines
till
date,
Ramu
truly
believes
that
ever
since
Aag,
he
has
found
himself
in
a
position
where
he
has
to
bear
with
other
flops
as
well.
Reason
being
that
every
time
a
film
flops,
it
finds
a
reference
to
Aag
by
getting
titled
as
'XYZ
director
ki
Aag'.
Says
Ramu
with
mock
laughter,
"When
Tashan
came,
they
said
its
'Aditya
Chopra
ki
Aag'.
For
Chandni
Chowk
to
China,
it
was
Nikhil
Advani
ki
Aag'.
For
Kites
it
was
'Rakesh
Roshan
ki
Aag'.
Now
Raavan
is
being
termed
as
'Mani
Ratnam
ki
Aag'.
I
guess
apart
from
bearing
with
my
own
flops,
I
have
to
now
bear
with
flops
coming
from
others
as
well."
While
he
is
busy
with
bringing
his
epic
film
Rakta
Charitra
(arriving
in
two
parts)
closer
to
completion
mark,
Ramu
is
keeping
himself
abreast
with
what's
happening
in
the
world
of
Bollywood.
Also,
he
is
allowing
himself
a
chuckle
or
two
with
some
of
the
famed
films
failing
left,
right
and
centre.
No
wonder,
he
doesn't
quite
mind
when
reference
to
Aag
comes
in
every
few
months.
"I
have
realized
that
Aag
has
now
become
more
popular
than
Sholay",
he
dares
to
make
a
bold
statement,
though
with
a
reason,
"That's
because
a
hit
like
Sholay
comes
once
in
a
lifetime
whereas
a
flop
like
Aag
comes
every
few
months.
That's
the
reason
why
there
are
so
many
references
to
Aag
made
time
and
again."
Not
to
be
bogged
down
by
scathing
comments
that
are
usually
reserved
for
him,
he
makes
a
final
strike
by
stating,
"I
am
happy
that
if
not
anything
else,
I
at
least
managed
to
set
up
a
bench
mark
for
flops.
I
can
see
that
Aag
will
live
on
for
many
more
years
to
come."
Story first published: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 10:41 [IST]