Call his films sexy, but is he a sexist ?
By:
Screen
Weekly,
IndiaFM
Monday,
February
26,
2007
The
irrepressible
Ram
Gopal
Varma
on
women,
love
and
matters
philosophical
and
anatomical.
You
can
call
his
films
sexy,
but
is
he
sexist?
Make
of
me
what
you
will,
the
director
tells
Harneet
Singh
What
prompted
Nishabd?
The
idea
was
sparked
by
a
conversation
between
Mr.
Bachchan
and
me.
Mentioning
one
of
his
forthcoming
films,
Cheeni
Kum,
he
told
me
it's
a
story
of
an
older
man
and
younger
woman.
Since
he
didn't
mention
the
age
of
the
woman,
my
immediate
thought
went
to
Lolita.
I
thought
of
making
an
opposite
of
the
feel
good
romcom
that
Cheeni
Kum
is.
I
was
excited
to
see
an
actor
of
his
caliber
and
dignity
in
a
setting
where
he
has
to
justify
his
attraction
for
a
teenager.
I
was
excited
to
see
what
a
young
girl
can
generate
in
him.
How
did
you
zero
in
on
Jiah
Khan
as
the
teenager?
In
order
to
make
the
story
more
believable
I
needed
somebody
new.
The
idea
was
that
the
audience
discovers
her
with
Mr.
Bachchan
in
the
film.
As
far
as
Jiah
is
concerned,
I
had
met
her
a
year
back.
When
I
was
casting
for
Nishabd,
her
image
just
came
in
my
mind.
She
is
much
like
the
part.
She
comes
from
abroad,
has
an
accent
and
comes
from
a
broken
house
also.
So
it
all
fell
in
place.
Is
there
a
difference
in
the
way
you
direct
male
characters
and
women
characters?
I
don't
consciously
see
or
feel
a
difference.
As
long
as
sexuality
is
not
predominant
in
the
film's
theme,
I
handle
men
and
women
in
the
same
manner.
Why
is
it
that
except
an
Urmila
in
Rangeela
and
Antara
Mali
in
Naach,
most
of
your
other
women
characters
are
not
so
strong?
Maybe
because
women
don't
run
underworld
gangs.
But
how
do
you
feel
about
women?
I
feel
a
woman
is
a
beautiful
creation
and
makes
life
worthwhile.
I
feel
it's
wrong
to
look
at
them
as
a
different
species.
I
like
women.
I
like
using
words
like
girl
and
women.
In
one
of
your
interviews
you
said
that
you
like
women
as
long
as
they
keep
their
mouth
shut.
Are
you
serious?
See,
for
me,
sharing
a
conversation
with
woman
is
different
from
her
sexual
aspect.
I
live
in
a
dream
world.
When
I
see
a
woman
I
like
her
for
something
and
I
don't
want
the
effect
to
be
spoilt.
When
they
start
talking,
they
bring
some
baggage
and
the
image
gets
spoilt.
My
problem
is
that
I
like
to
edit
my
world.
I
can
do
that
in
films
but
not
in
the
real
world.
So
what
you
are
saying
is
that
women
should
be
seen
and
not
heard?
(Laughs)
I'm
okay
if
women
speak
so
long
as
what
they
speak
sounds
right
to
me.
You
really
mean
that?
(Laughs)
I'm
telling
you
every
man
feels
the
same
way.
It's
just
that
they
don't
say
it
and
I
say
it.
Every
man
likes
his
woman
to
be
tailor-made
to
what
he
wants.
The
women
in
your
films
are
quite
aggressive,
do
you
like
aggro
women?
Yes.
I
don't
like
the
bahu
types.
I
don't
like
women
who
look
good
on
the
dinning
table
or
the
kitchen.
Jiah's
introduction
in
the
film
with
the
water
sprinkler
-
Mr
Bachchan
looking
at
her
as
she
gets
wet
-
is
quite
stereotypical,
isn't
it?
Sexuality
is
a
strong
aspect
of
being
a
woman.
To
see
a
woman
being
sensual
or
erotic
is
every
man's
fantasy.
I
feel
a
woman
is
a
woman
and
a
woman's
body
is
a
woman's
body.
What
matters
is
how
you
capture
it
and
generate
a
feeling.
I
read
somewhere
that
the
only
difference
between
pornography
and
erotica
is
that
pornography
is
front
light
while
erotica
is
back
light.
The
difference
lies
in
the
aesthetics
created
by
one
man's
vision.
Since
the
scene
triggers
a
feeling
in
Mr.
Bachchan,
it's
an
important
scene.
But
what
is
this
fixation
that
male
film-makers
have
with
water
and
rain
when
they
want
to
depict
a
woman's
sexuality?
That's
because
the
clothes
become
transparent
and
visually
it
works
very
well.
I'm
sure
in
reality
the
experience
of
looking
good
in
wet
clothes
must
be
eeky
for
women
but
it
looks
good
on
screen.
Why
do
you
focus
on
women's
butts?
I
focus
on
whatever
I
love
and
I
think
butts
are
sexy.
But
that
said
what
I
find
sexier
is
a
man
looking
at
the
butt.
As
a
film-maker
I'm
excited
to
capture
in
a
man's
eye,
what
he's
feeling.
Do
you
need
a
muse
to
be
inspired?
I
don't
know
what
exactly
the
word
muse
means.
I
get
excited
by
a
story
and
a
thought.
If
I'm
making
a
film
on
the
underworld,
that
becomes
my
muse.
So
the
character,
the
actor
or
the
technical
angles
all
become
a
muse.
As
I
see
it,
a
film
is
a
medium
and
the
muse
is
just
one
part
of
it.
Why
is
it
that
all
your
women
discoveries
like
Urmila
and
Antara
disappear
when
you
stop
working
with
them,
it's
as
if
you
scar
them?
I
think
that's
because
the
effect
they
had
in
my
films
became
a
benchmark
of
their
careers.
Most
actors,
male
or
female
have
only
one
or
two
films
that
really
make
an
impact
after
which
they
become
personalities.
It's
just
that
women
make
for
more
interesting
reading
so
that
becomes
a
talking
point.
For
example,
what
you
said
for
the
heroines
can
also
be
said
for
Manoj
Bajpai
but
you
didn't.
Do
you
fall
in
love
with
your
heroines
while
making
a
film?
No
and
that's
because
I'm
too
much
in
love
with
myself
to
fall
in
love
with
anyone
else.
Recent
Stories
"I
am
waiting
for
my
ideal
man..."
Grandparents
in
Indian
Cinema