Twenty
seven
years
after
it
first
released
in
theatres
and
became
a
cult
classic,
Ram
Gopal
Varma’s
Satya
returns
to
the
big
screen.
The
film
will
re-release
in
theatres
on
January
17,
and
its
team
reunited
for
a
special
screening
in
Mumbai.
Satya
was
an
important
film
in
Manoj
Bajpayee
and
Urmila
Matondkar‘s
careers,
as
it
put
them
firmly
on
the
map.
Urmila’s
first
film
with
Ram
Gopal
Varma
was
1995’s
Rangeela,
where
she
played
a
glamorous
role.
Satya
saw
her
at
the
other
end
of
the
spectrum,
in
a
totally
deglam
look,
but
yet
another
impactful
role.
The
duo
went
on
to
collaborate
in
as
many
as
11
films
including
Daud,
Kaun,
Bhoot
and
Mast.
Satya
became
a
hit,
and
Bajpayee’s
career
took
off.
He
tells
us
in
an
interview,
“After
Satya,
there
were
thousands
of
offers.
Those
days,
people
would
pay
in
cash.
There
would
be
suitcases
of
cash
coming
to
my
house
because
there
was
a
tradition
of
giving
the
signing
amount
first
and
then
narrating
the
script.”
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Ram
Gopal
Varma/Instagram
Surprisingly,
J
D
Chakravarthy,
who
played
the
titular
role
in
Satya,
did
not
find
success
in
Bollywood.
Perhaps
it
was
a
result
of
his
taciturn
personality.
The
other
gent
is,
of
course,
Ram
Gopal
Varma.
Satya
was
written
by
Anurag
Kashyap
and
Saurabh
Shukla.
Ram
Gopal
Varma
and
Vishal
Bhardwaj,
above,
who
composed
the
music
for
the
film
along
with
Sandeep
Chowta.
Makrand
Deshpande
played
Advocate
Chandrakant
Mule
in
the
film.
1998
was
an
important
year
in
Aditya
Srivastava‘s
career.
After
playing
a
cop
in
Satya,
he
went
on
to
play
another
much
more
memorable
one
in
the
CID
series,
which
premiered
in
the
same
month.
The
team
that
made
one
of
the
finest
underworld
films
in
Indian
cinema.
Photographs:
Panna
Bandekar
Curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com
