Ram
Gopal
Va ma
ope s
up
o
di ecti g
S idevi
(Image
C edits
I stag am)
Filmmake
Ram
Gopal
Va ma
has
ope ed
up
about
his
co t ibutio
to
S idevi’s
upcomi g
biog aphy,
‘The
Emp ess’,
while
ecalli g
his
expe ie ce
of
di ecti g
the
lege da y
act ess
i
‘Ksha am
Ksha am’.
I
a
ece t
co ve satio
with
Va iety
I dia,
Va ma
evealed
that
he
has
co t ibuted
a
chapte
to
the
book
a d
was
told
that
his
co t ibutio
is
amo g
its
best.
The
filmmake
also
eflected
o
S idevi’s
ext ao di a y
sc ee
p ese ce,
desc ibi g
he
c aft
as
somethi g
he
still
fi ds
difficult
to
comp ehe d
yea s
afte
he
death.
Ram
Gopal
Va ma
o
S idevi
biog aphy
‘The
Emp ess’
Ram
Gopal
Va ma
o
S idevi
biog aphy
‘The
Emp ess’
S idevi’s
biog aphy
‘The
Emp ess’,
w itte
by
Dhi aj
U.
Kuma ,
was
a ou ced
by
P iya ka
Chop a
o
the
late
act ess’s
bi th
a ive sa y
o
August
13.
Va ma
co fi med
that
he
has
co t ibuted
a
chapte
to
the
book,
although
he
admitted
that
he
was
ot
pa ticula ly
familia
with
its
title.“I
have
co t ibuted
o e
chapte
to
the
book,”
Va ma
said.
O
lea i g
that
the
biog aphy
is
titled
The
Emp ess,
he
added,
“I
did ’t
k ow
it
was
called
‘Emp ess.’
Is
it
‘Emp ess’?
Okay,
I
guess
she
was
that.
Although
I’d
have
p efe ed
Sc ee
Quee ,
she
was
that,
the
othe s
all
came
afte
he .”Va ma
also
eacted
to
the
espo se
he
has
eceived
about
his
co t ibutio
to
the
biog aphy.
He
said
he
has
bee
told
that
his
chapte
is
the
best
i
the
book,
though
he
emai s
sceptical
about
whethe
eve y
co t ibuto
has
bee
give
the
same
complime t.
“I
am
told
my
chapte
is
the
best.
But
the
they
must
be
sayi g
the
same
to
eve yo e
who
has
co t ibuted
to
it,”
he
said.
Ram
Gopal
Va ma
ecalls
di ecti g
S idevi
i
‘Ksha am
Ksha am’
Va ma
di ected
S idevi
o ly
o ce,
but
he
co side s
that
expe ie ce
e ough
to
u de sta d
the
ext ao di a y
a ge
she
b ought
to
a
pe fo ma ce.“I
got
to
di ect
he
o ly
o ce.
It
was
mo e
tha
e ough
p oof
what
she
could
do.
Fo
eve y
sce e
she
had
15-20
i te p etatio s
a d
exp essio s.
Wo ki g
with
he
was
like
stayi g
at
a
7-sta
hotel.
You
we e
spoilt
fo
life,”
he
ecalled.The
filmmake
also
spoke
about
his
co ti ui g
fasci atio
with
S idevi’s
pe fo ma ces.
Eve
yea s
afte
he
death,
he
said
he
emai s
u able
to
fully
u de sta d
the
c aft
behi d
some
of
he
most
memo able
sc ee
mome ts.“So
ma y
yea s
have
passed
si ce
she
died.
Eve
ow,
I
am
u able
to
u de sta d
what
she
did
o
sc ee .
Fo
example,
that
Cha lie
Chapli
seque ce
i
M
I dia….It
is
impossible
to
u de sta d
the
c aft
behi d
somethi g
like
that.
She
is
phe ome al
beyo d
a y
acto
I’ve
di ected.”
RGV
emembe s
his
fi st
meeti g
with
S idevi
Va ma
also
ecalled
meeti g
S idevi
fo
the
fi st
time
at
he
eside ce
i
Che ai.
He
had
go e
the e
with
the
i te tio
of
sig i g
the
act ess
fo
a
p oject.“I
had
go e
to
meet
he
at
he
eside ce
i
Che ai
to
sig
he .
I
was
sitti g
i
the
livi g
oom
with
he
mothe ,
while
S idevi
just
flitted
i
a d
out
of
the
oom
as
she
was
packi g
to
catch
a
flight.”The
filmmake
said
he
p ese ce
made
a
immediate
imp essio
o
him.“Eve y
time
she
came
i to
the
oom,
it
was
like
a
sudde
ush
of
f esh
i vigo ati g
b eeze,”
he
ecalled.Reflecti g
o
he
death,
Va ma
added,
“I
wa t
he
to
come
back
to
ea th
agai .
Just
o ce.
So
that
huma ity
would
k ow
she
eally
existed.”
RGV
says
he
does
ot
dwell
o
S idevi’s
death
Va ma
was
also
asked
whethe
he
thought
about
S idevi
o
he
bi th
a ive sa y
o
evisited
he
films.
The
filmmake
gave
a
u usually
ca did
espo se,
sayi g
that
he
does
ot
dwell
o
people
afte
they
have
died.“No!
I
do ’t
thi k
of
dead
people
at
all.
O ce
they
a e
go e,
they
a e
out
of
my
life.
I
would
athe
focus
o
my
ow
life
tha
thi k
of
the
dead,”
he
said.
What
is
S idevi
biog aphy
‘The
Emp ess’
about?
‘The
Emp ess’
is
a
upcomi g
biog aphy
dedicated
to
S idevi
a d
was
a ou ced
o
the
act ess’s
bi th
a ive sa y.
The
book
b i gs
togethe
co t ibutio s
a d
ecollectio s
f om
people
associated
with
diffe e t
phases
of
he
life
a d
ca ee .
Va ma’s
chapte
offe s
a
pe spective
f om
a
filmmake
who
wo ked
di ectly
with
S idevi
a d
wit essed
he
acti g
p ocess
f om
behi d
the
came a.
His
ecollectio s
of
Ksha am
Ksha am
a d
his
assessme t
of
he
c aft
add
a othe
dime sio
to
the
biog aphy’s
po t ait
of
the
late
act ess.
Ram
Gopal
Va ma
focuses
o
‘Police
Compa y’
While
discussi g
S idevi
a d
the
biog aphy,
Va ma
also
made
it
clea
that
his
atte tio
is
cu e tly
o
his
ext
di ecto ial
p oject,
‘Police
Compa y’.
The
filmmake
said
he
is
fully
occupied
with
shooti g
the
actio -c ime
d ama,
which
sta s
Ha shva dha
Ra e
i
the
lead.
The
p oject
is
bei g
desc ibed
by
Va ma
as
a
sto y
co ected
to
the
Mumbai
u de wo ld
a d
the
ise
of
diffe e t
ga gs
du i g
a
pe iod
of
i te se
c imi al
activity.Va ma
has
p eviously
desc ibed
‘Police
Compa y’
with
the
tagli e
‘It
Is
Mo e
Da ge ous
Tha
D
Compa y’,
suggesti g
a
sto y
about
what
could
happe
whe
a
powe ful
i stitutio
begi s
fu ctio i g
like
a
comme cial
o ga isatio .