Deepak Dobriyal, speaks to Subhash K Jha about starring in and the challenges os shooting for Ram Gopal Varma’s crime thrillerNot A Love Story, which released in 2011.
What was it like shooting for this bloodcurdling film?
It was very exciting and also very scary. Exciting because we took so many photos in Ramu sir’s office. So that we could get a role at any time. And I remember once I went to Juhu. And I had 10-15 photos in his office, I left all of them. My phone number was written behind every photograph .And I was tired of going to his office. So I said, this is the last time. If you call me, it’s fine. Otherwise, I won’t come after this. And I put all the photos in his office. And after that, I never went to Ramu sir’s office.
Then what happened?
After 4-5 years, I get a call from Ramu’s office. That there is a role. And he wants to meet you. So I went there and Ramu sir finalized me as soon as he saw me. There, after 5 years, you are becoming a poster boy in his film. So it was very exciting. Because it was my dream to work with Ramu sir.
Why was it scary?
It was scary because the place where the real incident (the murder of Neeraj Grover) happened. That building was being shot on the 8th floor. It was the same building , only different floors. And we had to shoot in the same environment and the same building. So it was very scary. So every day, as soon as I parked the car and went towards that building. In the midst of excitement and fear, we kept discovering new things about the crime. And some things kept coming out. Which we kept incorporating. I once asked Ramu sir. I said, sir, why don’t you follow the script? I mean, if the script had been written better. Then our film would have progressed with more weight. So he said, no, no, no. Deepak, it’s a visual medium. Don’t worry. All the visuals are in my mind. Don’t worry.
You think Ramu should have worked with a formal script?
Yes. Anyway. those days I saw that Ramu sir was very excited about the camera. So he was paying more attention to the camera angles. I had to sometimes hold the camera in my hand and shoot myself. It was also a little weird that you have to give a scary feeling and the camera is in your hand. So I felt very bad. It felt like an ice cream seller is eating ice cream from his own ice cream cart. I got such a feeling. I said, no, man, I didn’t want to do all this. But, still I did. I did everything. I said, okay, this is a new experience. So, that’s how I performed with those cameras. But I told Ramu sir, sir, whatever you see, whatever your best work is. I believe in everything. But if the shooting goes according to the script and the script is also good, it will be great.
There was formal DOP on the set?
When I went to the shoot on the first day, I said, man, a lot of guys had come. All the small digital cameras must be taking some light or some measurement of it. So I asked everyone, man, who is DOP? I said, a big DOP is coming. So he said, sir, we are DOP. I said, I don’t know what you are saying. They were young boys. They said that we are shooting together on digital, not on camera. My enthusiasm level was a little down. But it was also fun that for the first time, Ramu sir shot through the small digital cameras. And it seemed to me that Ramu sir didn’t say action there. He just said, yes, Deepak, start. We actor are used to a bit of roll sound, silence, roll sound, camera, action.
Confusing for an actor?
There was a lot of mixed feeling. Usually when you go to shoot a film, there is a vanity van, you come from the hotel. I used to go straight from my house. Ramu sir was very excited at that time. He was experimenting with 5D, 7D, these new cameras. So he was having a lot of fun with those small cameras. But Ramu sir is a legend, sir. I mean, stories run in his mind like this. The things he has made, from Satya to Shiva.And Daud, Company, Bhoot. All these amazing films that he has made. I was from Delhi and I was old Ramu would be the only director to go to. So, seeing him is a different experience. He is a darling. I want Ramu sir’s magic to be created again. That’s what I want.
