Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; January 21, 2025)
Urmila Matondkar made fitness fashionable much before Bollywood lapped up the gym culture. Her chiselled body and glam quotient, especially in Rangeela, and her dance moves in songs like Kambakth Ishq and Chamma Chamma were a game changer in the ’90s. When it came to her performances, the director with whom she delivered some of the highs of her career was Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) with films like Rangeela. Bhoot, Jungle, Kaun? and Satya. With Satya (1998) back in the cinemas, Urmila reunited with the talented cast and crew of the film recently, including RGV, who for the longest time considered Urmila his muse. Over the years, rumours of a fallout between the two have been a topic of chatter within industry circles. In an exclusive conversation with us, Urmila addressed the speculations for the first time and recalled her memories of Satya.
‘Rangeela made me a huge star and Satya made me unlearn that’
Talking about how she had to drop the glam girl image and remodel herself as a girl-next-door for the film, Urmila says, “When Satya happened, I was probably the only known face in the movie. Rest were talented newcomers. RGV was counting on me to pull it off. Rangeela made me a huge star and Satya made me 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. My character Vidya in the film has no identity of her own, she is literally relevant because she happens to be Satya’s neighbour. To step back into a girl next door avatar was a huge challenge. I remember using my mother’s old saris which she was on the verge of giving up and draping them because I felt it was perfect for the role. I am glad I could use my star status in a film that went on to become one of our finest.”
‘RGV is one of our finest filmmakers’
Appreciating RGV’s contribution to cinema, Urmila adds, “Ramu ji is undoubtedly one of our finest filmmakers. Look at his body of work and the kind of talent he got into the film industry. Not just actors, but cinematographers, technicians, writers and music directors. At the screening of Satya’s re-release, Sriram Raghavan, Madhu Mantena and Anurag Kashyap were there for him as they all had started out with him. He is an institution in cinema. I am proud of the work I have done with Ram Gopal Varma. If the right opportunity comes along, I would love to collaborate with Manoj Bajpayee and Ramu ji again.”
‘I made it on my own without anyone’s backing’
Dismissing rumours about their fallout, Urmila revealed, “There is no such thing as we stopped working. There was no fallout between RGV and me. I even did special songs in his movies like Company and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. The 90’s media was obsessed with everything about me except for my acting capability. Today, people openly talk about nepotism. Back in the day, too, there were actors around me who came from film families. Many couldn’t handle the fact that this nobody coming from a middle-class Marathi background was simply doing her work and shining. I made it on my own without anyone’s backing. I will say this proudly, that I am a people made star. My work has always spoken for itself.”
‘I’m glad the media today has a different perspective on women’
Urmila’s biggest grouse is her portrayal by the media in the 90’s. “My body of work included films like Kaun?, Bhoot, Ek Hasina Thi, Pinjar, Rangeela, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara… but I was still slotted as an item girl or a sex siren. Rangeela is also about a simple girl, who dreams big. The sexy image you see of her is her screen image or a character’s fantasy. I am glad the media today has a deeper understanding and a different perspective on women,” she says.
The great and not so great side of working with RGV
Speaking of the process of working with RGV, Urmila says, “It’s not that I was in every movie that Ramuji made. I am sure he didn’t think that he would put me in every movie either. He is a director who gives you great freedom to explore and that is a lot of work. He expects the actor to do a lot of work. He puts you in a dark room and tries his voice to guide you through that room, but it is you, who has to find your way out. It is you who must take that character to the finality. This work process is great and not so great part of him. It grows you tremendously as an actor, but those who cannot find their own way will not be able to make it.”
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Want to spend my life creating something as worthy as Satya – RGV
In a post on X, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma talked about Satya and wrote, “Some of my later films might have been successful but I do not believe that any of them had the same honesty and integrity which is in SATYA.”
He added, “When Francis Coppola was asked by an interviewer about a film he made after GODFATHER, whether it would be as good, I could see him squirming because I could see that it didn’t occur to him. No one asked me about any film I was about to make post SATYA whether it will be as good, but what’s worse is that I didn’t ask myself… whatever little of my life is left, I want to spend it sincerely and create something as worthy as SATYA.” Addressing Urmila, he added, ““Satya went so beyond the rangeela glamorous quotient you were already known for. It is you alone in Satya who made the film much more than just a gangster drama to give it a deeper soul. It’s no small feat to stand out in such a man’s world, but you did it unbelievably effortlessly.”