Pakistan Today

Ram Gopal Varma apologises to senior Marathi actor

Just the other day, Ram Gopal Varma incurred the wrath of a Bombay High Court Judge for refusing to return the money he owes Reliance Media Works (RMW) Ltd. And now, the filmmaker has had to tender a written apology to senior Marathi actor, Dr Girish Oak, for allegedly using his voice for the promos of ‘Satya 2’ without his consent. And it wasn’t before the Shiv Sena Chitrapat Sena (film unit of the Shiv Sena) helmed by another Marathi actor, Adesh Bandekar, intervened, and threatened Varma with dire consequences,that the director relented. This is how it all panned out. After announcing the sequel to his 1998 blockbuster Satya, Varma called several actors for an audition, asking them to deliver some of the dialogues from his upcoming film. Dr Oak was one of them, and returned after his voice audition, hopeful he would get a call from Varma’s production house. Apparently, in the meantime, Varma used Dr Oak’s voice sample for promos of the sequel, which he uploaded on You Tube, and even some trailers of the film, without informing the actor of his actions. When Dr Oak found out about the videos, he called up Varma’s office, only to get no reply. The actor recalled his experience saying, “I just called to ask them how they could use my voice without my consent, but they didn’t reply. They treated me shabbily and I was very hurt and upset.” However, things are very different now, according to Dr Oak. “Varma is now offering me money and credit for my voice. But I don’t want money for it. I want my dignity back,” he said. When Bandekar (President of the Shiv Sena Chitrapat Sena) heard about the incident, he tried to get in touch with Varma but wasn’t successful. He again visited Varma’s office, this time with Dr Oak and members of the Chitrapat Sena in tow, but Varma left his office without meeting them. Ultimately, they told Varma he wouldn’t be allowed to shoot in Maharashtra if he didn’t make amends. Bandekar even appealed the filmmaker to tender an apology to such a senior actor as Dr Oak. “At the time, Varma was ready to pay Dr Oak, but we insisted on a written apology and finally, he submitted it on his company (Dreamforce Enterprises) letter head to Dr Oak,” said Bandekar.

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