Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma, often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television. Varma has directed films across multiple genres, including parallel cinema and docudrama noted for their gritty realism, technical finesse, and craft. Regarded as one of the pioneers of new age Indian cinema, he was featured in the BBC World series Bollywood Bosses in 2004. In 2006, Grady Hendrix of Film Comment, published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films.
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, or simply, Aag (transl. Fire) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action drama film produced and directed by Ram Gopal Varma, the film features Mohanlal, Amitabh Bacchan, Ajay Devgn, Prashant Raj Sachdev, Sushmita Sen, J. D. Chakravarthy, and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi in principal roles. The film is an adaptation of the 1975 Hindi film Sholay, upon release, it was negatively received by the critics. It is considered as one of the worst films made.
Veeramachaneni Jagapathi Chowdary, professionally known as Jagapathi Babu, is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has also appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Babu has appeared in 170 feature films, and has received four Filmfare Awards and seven state Nandi Awards.
Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu is an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film Ragile Gundelu. Years later, he starred in the 2003 Telugu action film Vishnu, for which he won the Filmfare Best Male Debut.
Maheswari is an Indian former actress, who appeared predominantly in Telugu and Tamil language films. She was one of the leading actresses in Telugu and Tamil films from 1994 to 2000. She appeared alongside major South Indian stars like Jagapati Babu, J. D. Chakravarthy, Ravi Teja, Ajith Kumar, Vikram, Prabhu, Arjun Sarja, Prabhu Deva, and Shiva Rajkumar. She is best known for her performances in Pelli (1997), Gulabi (1995), Karuththamma (1994), and Ullaasam (1997).
Dongala Mutha is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Ravi Teja, Charmy, Prakash Raj, Lakshmi Manchu, Sunil, Bramhanandam, Subbaraju and Supreeth Reddy. This film is the first of its kind in Indian cinema as it was shot with just 7 crew members and in a record of 5 days. Prior to filming, Varma announced that this film has no budget and that the cast and crew will not be taking remunerations until the film hits theaters.
Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language comedy film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. It stars Sunil and Swati Reddy in the lead roles, alongside Brahmanandam and Kota Srinivasa Rao. Sudhakar Reddy has handled the camera and Koti has composed the music.
Bejawada or Bezawada is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action crime film based on the Vijayawada Gang Warfare, directed by Vivek Krishna and produced by Ram Gopal Varma and Renny Johnson. The film stars Naga Chaitanya and Amala Paul. The movie was received negatively at the box office but positively at the television and OTT as it accurately depicted the historical gang war in Vijayawada. Later it was dubbed in Hindi as Hero: The Action Man (2013) and also in Tamil as Vikram Dhadha. It marked Amala’s Telugu debut.
The Attacks of 26/11 is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, based on the book Kasab: The Face of 26/11 by Rommel Rodrigues about Ajmal Kasab, perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The film stars Sanjeev Jaiswal in his film debut, playing the role of terrorist Ajmal Kasab, with art direction by Uday Singh. It also features Nana Patekar in a pivotal role. A seven-minute promo of the film was released over the Internet on 23 November 2012.
Satya 2 is a 2013 Indian crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, the film stars Puneet Singh Ratn (Hindi), Sharwanand (Telugu), Anaika Soti and Mahesh Thakur. The film tells the story of Satya, an immigrant who comes to Mumbai aiming to refashion the mumbai underworld. The film is the fourth installment of the Gangster series, unrelated to the original trilogy.
Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Sriwass and featuring an ensemble cast composed of Mohan Babu, Manchu Vishnu, Manchu Manoj, Raveena Tandon, Hansika Motwani, Pranitha Subhash, Varun Sandesh, and Tanish. Manchu Vishnu and Manchu Manoj are jointly producing the film on their respective banners, 24 Frames Factory and Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures. Kona Venkat, Gopimohan and BVS Ravi wrote the film's screenplay with Palani Kumar handling cinematography.
Rowdy is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. It stars Vishnu Manchu and his father Mohan Babu with Jayasudha and Shanvi Srivastav in important roles. Sai Karthik composed the music for this film, while Satish Mutyala handled the cinematography. The principal photography commenced on 26 December 2013 and ended on 21 February 2014 in 30 working days. It was dubbed into Hindi as Rowdy.
Anukshanam is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language mystery thriller, and slasher film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Vishnu Manchu and Revathi in lead roles. Ram Gopal Varma has started a new distribution system with this film by auctioning this movie through a website. Released on 13 September 2014 without an intermission, the film opened to a mixed reception, with praise for Vishnu’s performance, the script and screenplay, but criticism of the gore, bloodshed and lack of characterisation. The film had a lukewarm reception at the box-office.
Current Theega is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy action film produced by Manchu Vishnu on 24 Frames Factory banner and directed by G. Nageswara Reddy. It stars Manchu Manoj, Rakul Preet Singh and Jagapathi Babu. The film's music is composed by Achu while Satish Mutyala and S R Shekhar have taken care of the cinematography and editing respectively.
Sarkar 3 is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language political crime thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. This is the third installment of the Sarkar franchise and the continuation to the events of Sarkar Raj. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan again in the titular lead role along with Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, Amit Sadh, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy and Parag Tyagi.
Vangaveeti is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language biographical action film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film is based on the life of politician Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga, and his elder brother Vangaveeti Radha Krishna and their altercation with communist dominated Vijayawada of the 1970s-80s in Andhra Pradesh.
12 'O' Clock is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and starring Mithun Chakraborty, Flora Saini, Manav Kaul, Krishna Gautam and Makarand Deshpande. The film was first announced with the name Geher, but the following trailer revealed it had been renamed 12 'O' Clock on 3 July 2020. It was released in India on 8 January 2021.
Amma Rajyam Lo Kadapa Biddalu, originally titled Kamma Rajyam Lo Kadapa Reddlu, is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language political satire film directed by Siddartha Thatolu and Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Ajay Mysore. The film stars Ajmal Ameer, Dhananjay Prabhune, Brahmanandam, and Ali.
Konda is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language political crime thriller film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and produced by Sushmitha Patel. The film explores the political-criminal-nexus between Indian politician couple Konda Surekha, Konda Murali, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, and Maoist Ramakrishna, alias R.K. Konda was released on 23 June 2022 to mixed reviews.
