'My film is called Ek, not Bomb!' An irked Ram Gopal Varma on his next project

Subhash K Jha

The name of Ram Gopal Varma's Rs 650 million project with film financier Bharat Shah, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar, is Ek.

The director said this in response to recent reports that quoted the film's international producer Raju Patel as saying the name of the film is Bomb. Patel is also the international producer of Sanjay Gupta's Kaante.

Asserts Varma, "My film is certainly not called Bomb. Please! That title was used tentatively when we were initially discussing the project. I don't know how Raju Patel was quoted calling the film Bomb. The title is Ek as in the numerical 1. And it is not negotiable."

Varma is now busy scripting for Ek, the shooting for which begins in July.

He will also start another film with Ajay Devgan in February, he announces from the sets of Bhoot where he is shooting with Rekha. He adds, "It is a murder mystery and will be produced by Ajay. I have called it Murder At Srikrishna Building."

Varma is known for his penchant for unusual titles. Who else could have titled his film Road, Company or Jungle?

"In comparison, Murder At Srikrishna Building sounds quite normal, no?" chuckles Varma as he sets up his next shot.

After Company and the forthcoming Bhoot this is the third film Varma will direct with Ajay Devgan in the lead. Ek marks the first time Varma has worked with another actor, apart from Manoj Bajpai, in four major films.

There is a great deal of mutual admiration between Varma and Devgan. Says the former, "Look at the variety of roles and performances in 2002, from Company to The Legend Of Bhagat Singh to Deewangee! Unlike other stars, he does not tomtom his achievements. Ajay is one of the most underrated actors we have."