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Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who has left an indelible mark in both commercial and parallel cinema in India, recently criticised film institutes, deeming them irrelevant in the modern filmmaking context. In an interview with Film Companion, RGV expressed his disdain for the outdated course structures of these institutes, highlighting their focus on “irrelevant” classics like Battleship Potemkin and Citizen Kane instead of contemporary successes like Kantara and KGF 2.
Describing film institutes as a sham, RGV said, “Film institutes are the biggest sham and I feel sorry for the students who join them. I am also talking about Film and Television Institute of India in Pune which has existed since the 70s. I have not heard a single guy coming from that institute and becoming anything in life… a very few people, handful, actually. Maybe Ketan Mehta, Vidhu Vinod Chopra… but the institute wouldn’t have taught them.”
Commenting on the need for modernisation, RGV emphasised, “The point is if it’s a professional course, it has to be updated to today’s time. You should teach how to make Kantara and KGF 2. Now you talking about Battleship Potemkin and Citizen Kane, which have absolutely no relevance.”
Taking an example of Ranbir Kapoor and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s recent hit Animal, RGV said, “Recently, some writers came to me from film institute and they were talking about rules of screenplay. I asked them if they had seen Animal. Then I asked them to apply the rules of screenplay to Animal. It was over. There was a time when there were conformists (who paid more importance to) about how a film should be. But in social media and internet time, when everyone can express, filmmaking is no longer communication, it’s pure art. So, a Sandeep Vanga can never come from a film institute. That is him as a person and that should be encouraged.”
Meanwhile, RGV had plans to launch his own film school, called RGV UnSchool, in 2018. However, not much information is available about its current status. On the work front, RGV recently directed Vyuham, with Part I theatrically released on 2 March 2024, and Part II titled Shapatham scheduled for release on 8 March 2024.
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