'They Make Oppenheimer, We Make Thugs Of Hindostan': Indian director slams Bollywood filmmakers

Indian film director Ram Gopal Varma slammed Bollywood filmmakers for making movies like “Thugs Of Hindostan” while Hollywood created masterpieces such as “Oppenheimer”.

In a recent interview with an Indian media outlet, the veteran filmmaker reflected on the ideas being shared by Bollywood filmmakers compared with Hollywood filmmakers.

Responding to a question about the brilliance of Hollywood filmmakers, Varma said, “When you talk about [Martin] Scorsese, or when you talk about Clint Eastwood, the kind of realism and effectiveness… They’re taking up (interesting) subjects, and getting performances that are top-notch. More than anything else, it is their personal attitude which is reflecting in their films.”

The “Satya” director went on to add that Indian filmmakers don’t make such films as they “think of the audiences as dumb.”

“Basically, the kind of cinema they make, and the benchmark there… Imagine what is the benchmark here. All the big (Hollywood) stars come together and make Oppenheimer. And here, all the big stars come together and they make Thugs of Hindostan,” Ram Gopal Varma opined.

It is pertinent to mention that the veteran filmmaker began his career as a film director with the Telugu movie “Siva” in 1989. He made his Bollywood debut with a Hindi remake of the same film as “Shiva” in 1990.

Ram Gopal Varma is best known for his iconic movies like “Rangeela”, ‘Satya’, “Kaun”, “Jungle”, “Company”, “Bhoot”, “Sarkar”, “Rakta Charitra 1” and “Rakya Charitra 2”.

He has, in the past, backed projects of other filmmakers that received mixed reviews.

Varma came out in support of Sandeep Reddy Vanga after his directional “Animal” received severe backlash for glorifying misogyny and violence.