Ramsay Brothers’ first hit made 7x returns on less than Rs 5 lakh budget: ‘Only got A certificates’

Ramsay Brothers’ first hit made 7x returns

Talking to Hindi Rush, Deepak said that the 1972 film was made on a “shoestring budget” and earned “7-8 times more than the cost.” He added that the film was made in less than Rs 5 lakh, which was quite unheard of, even in those times. “After this, we got the stamp of horror. People were asking, ‘When are you making the next one?’” he said. During this phase, they made 50 films, all in the horror, supernatural, and murder mystery genres.

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When asked about the semi-nudity and intimate scenes in their films, which fetched them ‘Adults only’ certificates for all their films, Deepak said that since they were anyway going to get an ‘A’ certificate because of the gory content, they pushed further with the content that was then classified as ‘Adults only.’ He then said that some of their films had an “inherent requirement” for sensuality, and said that Veerana (released in 1988), one of their biggest hits, was one of those films.

‘Veerana had an inherent requirement for sensuality’

“Veerana had an inherent requirement for sensuality. A ravishing woman or a ‘chudial’ (witch) who is wandering the streets at night and is looking for a companion,” he said and added that all the “elements of sensuality were embedded in the film.” He shared that the film got so many cuts from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that “we didn’t know if we should even release it. It was banned 3 times.” They ultimately got a release certificate after they went to the tribunal. “They gave an ‘A plus’ certificate, made a lot of cuts and then the film was released. It was a nightmare, as far as the censors were concerned,” he said.

A poster of Veerana.

He claimed that despite popular opinion, Ramsay Brothers always shot their content “aesthetically” and knew that they “shouldn’t cross a line.” “The horror element in the film was very gory. There was lots of bloodshed. If you watched the uncensored version of Veerana, it would have been a different experience,” he said.

‘Jasmine refused to sign films after Veerana’

Deepak Ramsay also addressed the disappearance of Jasmine Dhunna, the lead actor of Veerana, who apparently left the film industry after the film became a massive hit. “She was very young. She had two films before Veerana, one of which was with Vinod Khanna, but she did not make a mark with those films. But when Veerana was released, it created a havoc,” he said.

Describing Jasmine as a “lethal combination of innocence and beauty,” he said that “she created an enigma” to the point where many producers were calling them to cast her in their films. “Jasmine just disappeared from the industry. She stopped taking calls and never did a film after this. Even her disappearance added to the enigma,” he said. He mentioned that soon after Veerana released, Jasmine was in touch with the Ramsays but had informed them that she did not want to do films, and requested them not to share her contact details with the rest of the industry. “We protected her privacy, but she slowly disappeared,” he said.

Deepak mentioned that he had even heard rumours that the underworld was trying to get in touch with her. “I had heard rumours that some underworld people were trying to get in touch with her. I don’t know if it was real or fake. She went into her shell after this,” he said.

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Jasmine’s co-star on her whereabouts

Previously, Jasmine Dhunna’s co-star from the film Hemant Birje, shared with Bollywood Thikana that she was living in the US but frequently visits Mumbai. “I often speak to her. She is very much alive and doing well. She is the only child of her parents. She debuted with Vinod Khanna in Sarkari Mehmaan. Veerana shot her to fame and then suddenly she disappeared. I had dialled her some time ago — she checked on me and said she would call later. She did call me the next day and said, ‘Hey, I have shopped a lot of clothes for you.’ But I could never meet her. She resides in America but keeps travelling to Mumbai. Here, she lives in Versova. However, she never discusses the film. Even today, whenever I go for shows, people approach me to ask about her,” he said.