Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma recently revealed that he is planning to make the fourth installment of his popular political crime franchise Sarkar. The director shared the update while attending the Red Lorry Film Festival on Friday (March 13), where his iconic film Shiva was screened.
Speaking at the event, Varma said he has begun working on Sarkar 4 but added that the final outcome will only be known with time. He also added that the shoot of the film might start next month. However, details about the film’s cast are not known yet.
“I’m also making ‘Sarkar 4’. But after I made that statement, you also have to know the old English saying, the proof of the pudding is in eating. So, whether I do it or not, we see that at the end of the year.”
The Sarkar franchise, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, is a political crime thriller rooted in the socio-political landscape of Maharashtra. The films revolve around the powerful Nagre family, led by Amitabh Bachchan’s character Subhash Nagre, who is shown running a parallel system of power in the state.
The first film in the series, Sarkar, was released in 2005. It was followed by Sarkar Raj in 2008 and Sarkar 3 in 2017. Over the years, actors such as Supriya Pathak, Kay Kay Menon, Amit Sadh and Abhishek Bachchan have played key roles in the franchise.
Varma also revealed that he is currently working on another project titled Syndicate, which he described as a thriller. The filmmaker said the decision came after he recently returned to Mumbai.
“After a long time, I came back to Bombay recently and I took the decision to do a film, ‘Syndicate’, which might seem very high handed. I decided to wash away all my sins and shock everybody (with my filmmaking),” he said, without revealing details about the plot or cast.
Once regarded as one of the most innovative filmmakers in Hindi cinema, Varma delivered several cult hits such as Satya, Company, Koun and Bhoot. However, many of his recent films have not performed well at the box office.
Reflecting on his career journey, Varma said both his successes and failures stemmed from the same traits – arrogance and carelessness. “Arrogance is about taking it for granted that I can do this with my left hand, carelessness is about not bothering about the consequences. I think inherently that is the same reason my good films also came (about),” he said.
“Because I didn’t care about how films should be made and to follow a pattern in terms of casting or the subject matters I choose, so, the good and bad also came from the same source,” the filmmaker added.
Varma also reflected on his debut film Shiva, starring Nagarjuna, which explored the harsh realities of student politics. According to the filmmaker, the film might not be possible to make in today’s time.
Varma added that the film drew inspiration from both real-life incidents and cinema that influenced him. He said he admired Steven Spielberg’s visual storytelling style and also took thematic inspiration from The Way of the Dragon, the classic martial arts film starring Bruce Lee.
