Sukumar made a film called Jagadam with Ram. The film has completed 15 years and on this occasion, we caught up with the director for a detailed interview about the film and its making. Here is the transcript.
The idea behind making Jagadam?
Right from my childhood, I was attracted to street fights. Whenever I knew a fight was going on in my area, I used to rush to the sight. But the moment I landed there, the fights stopped. So, I always had an inclination to see how people would react to fights and what would happen. When I became a filmmaker, I decided to make a film on violence and that is how Jagadam was born.
About roping Ram as a hero?
The moment I wrapped up the script Devdasu released. I was in awe of Ram who was quite effortless in the film. I felt he was the right person for the film and approached Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and the project was on. Now that the film has completed 15 years, I want to remake the film with Ram yet again.
Working experience with Ram?
Ram is a terrific actor and did whatever I asked in Jagadam. I remember asking him to learn how to flip a coin. Ram went away from the sets and came back learning the trick. He was so sharp and the uniqueness he had has brought him so far in his career. He is a bundle of talent and we need to extract work from him.
Unknown facts about Jagadam?
Not many know that we had multiple cuts from the censor board. A number of scenes were cut by the officials and I always feel that the film should have come out without any cuts. Even songs in the film and words like violence were asked to change and that is the reason, the word Jagdam came in.
About the failure of the film?
The film did not work the way I thought. Some said it was way ahead of its times and some thought why I made an action film after a love story like Arya. I remember meeting editor Sreekar Prasad on a flight and he started speaking about the film. I right away told what’s there to speak about a flop film. Then, he told me not to get disappointed as he knew that so many noted Hindi directors had watched the film and have a DVD of the movie in their collection. This made me happy.