‘I Am Earning My Living Because of Dawood Ibrahim ’: Ram Gopal Varma Makes Shocking Claims

By Entertainment Desk, New Delhi Chronicle

New Delhi: Maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) has once again stirred the pot in Bollywood by making a series of startling revelations regarding his connection with the underworld. In a recent interview, the director of cult classics like Satya and Company claimed that he owes his professional livelihood to the existence of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.

“No Dawood, No Satya”

RGV, known for his gritty and realistic portrayal of the Mumbai underworld, stated that without the influence and persona of Dawood Ibrahim, his most iconic films would never have seen the light of day.

“I dedicated my autobiography Guns & Thighs to Dawood Ibrahim, but the publishers removed his name,” Varma revealed during an interaction with Filmfare. “If Dawood Ibrahim was not there, I would not have made Satya and Company. How can I not dedicate it to him? I am earning my living because of him.”

The ‘Soul Mate’ of the Underworld?

During the 1990s, the Hindi film industry was notoriously gripped by the fear of the D-Company. While legends like Rakesh Roshan and Gulshan Kumar faced violent attacks, and stars like Karan Johar and David Dhawan reported receiving death threats, RGV claims he had a vastly different experience.

The filmmaker asserted that he never received a single threatening call from the underworld. On the contrary, he claimed that gangsters were fans of his work.

“I was the only guy who never got threatening calls. The reason being they loved Satya and Company. They didn’t want to bother me. I kind of became their soul mate,” Varma stated.

Allegations of Underworld Funding

While RGV maintains his relationship with the underworld was purely creative, former top cops have previously suggested otherwise. D. Sivanandhan, former Joint CP (Crime) of Mumbai, recently alleged in an interview that several gangster-centric films of that era—including Satya and Company—were funded by the criminals themselves to “lift their image.”

Varma has consistently denied these allegations, maintaining that his fascination with the underworld was strictly as a storyteller.

A Controversial Legacy

Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya (1998) is often credited with birthing the “Mumbai Noir” genre, shifting the lens of Indian cinema toward the dark, unglamorous reality of organized crime. However, his latest comments have reignited the debate over the ethical line between documenting crime and glorifying the criminals behind it.

As Bollywood continues to distance itself from its dark past in the 90s, RGV’s unapologetic stance serves as a stark reminder of the era when the lines between the “D-Company” and “The Film Company” were dangerously blurred.