Urmila Matondkar dismisses ‘fallout’ with Ram Gopal Varma; says she was a victim of nepotism: ‘I was slotted as an item girl or a sex siren despite…’

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Reflecting on working in Satya, widely regarded as one of Bollywood’s most defining works, Urmila revealed that while Rangeela catapulted her to stardom, Satya made her unlearn that. “When you have spent many years trying to become somebody and have to shed that status overnight to become a nobody, that was me in Satya,” she added recalling her character Vidya, an aspiring singer.

She also spoke about being slotted as ‘an item girl or a sex siren’ despite doing films such as Pinjar, Kaun?, Bhoot, and Ek Hasina Thi, among others. She added that she is happy that the audiences in India have a deeper understanding of women. She pointed out how media was interested in everything about her life but not her acting capability. She pointed out how nepotism was a reality then as well.

Praising Ram Gopal Varma, Urmila described him as one of India’s finest filmmakers and acknowledged his role in introducing many fresh talents to the industry, including actors, cinematographers, writers, music directors and other technicians. Calling RGV an institution in cinema, Urmila shared that if the right opportunity comes along, she’d love to collaborate with Manoj Bajpayee and Ram Gopal Varma again.