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Is Ramu missing?

THE ONLY thing known about Ram Gopal Varma today is the fact that his latest film Dhyey, has starting problems. This is due to the fact that no financiers are apparently willing to back him after the disaster of Aag.

As to the news of his film Go, as the saying goes, no news is good news. But all doesn’t seem well with the filmmaker, since he cannot be traced of late.

It appears that Ramu has indeed gone into hiding for the last two months and no one seems to have heard from or of him. He’s not traceable at his office neither can he be reached on his mobile. Concerned friends who’ve tried to call his number several times and alternately text him, get no reply.

Talk in the industry goes that a lot of his Bollywood colleagues who once hovered around Ramu have now shunned associating with him. One wonders whether this has added to the depression Varma is said to be in after Aag. After all it is very disturbing for a flmmaker of his standing to be nicknamed “Ugh!”

Apparently, his protégé (or girlfriend?), Nisha Kothari, has also stopped expecting that Ramu’s films will do wonders for her. She has even changed her name to Priyanka and is now trying to establish herself with outside banners. According to her, “It’s my original name and my real identity. I am sure my parents chose this name with a lot of love and affection and I should not have changed it in the first place. When I entered the industry, I was just a teenager and had no clue about how things work here. Many people told me that there’s already a Priyanka in the industry, so I should call myself by a different name.”

If at one time Ramu made news for his films, he also made news via links with his hot leading ladies. But once Aag was over, Ramu denied any link with Nisha saying, “What can I say or do about these write-ups? Maybe they should place these stories in the comic book section of the paper. The fact is I finished shooting with Nisha for Aag five months ago. I haven’t even been in touch with her since then.”

But that was his last heard of quote and ever since, he has not appeared in the media at all. The only hope Ramu is said to be resting on, is his forthcoming project Sarkaar Raj, starring the Bachchans —Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya. Sarkaar being his last hit was also a casting coup of sorts, with Amitabh and Abhishek sharing screen time together for the first time.

A big actor who’s worked with Ramu and does not wish to be named insists, “There is no need to worry about where Ramu is. He is just biding his time and will definitely hit back with Sarkaar Raj. He has always been like that. He will lie low and then come back with a bang.”

Just a thought: Ramu dumped Shah Rukh Khan and Time Machine in favour of Nishabd and Aag in his bid to please Mr. Bachchan. But while the new Gabbar Singh went out with a whimper, looks like Khan is having the last box-office laugh with Om Shanti Om! Where is the once fiery Ramu spirit? Perhaps it will resurface with Sarkaar Raj.