I've said it already, and this is the last time I'll do so: Just because someone knows how something works, does not mean that the person will depict said thing accurately.
Again (and for the last time), I don't give a damn what's shown in the film (I take it you mean
Naach); I give a damn that it's shown in a very trite, banal, predictable way: a way in which countless other films have shown it.
Naach is not a "notch" above anything; rather, it's several below most films of its type, as it succeeds them, and offers nothing new in its course.
If you don't think that Amitabh Bachchan was (and is) phenomenal, yet you see brilliance in Ram Gopal Varma, then I guess you're entitled to your opinion; you're dead wrong, but I suppose you're entitled to it.
You seem to have no idea what talent and good film-making is. Someone who so vehemently lauds Varma and attacks Bachchan is not a person with a clear field of thought. You seem to think that the only film that can qualify for the "action" genre, is one that is basically a video game.
James is trash; that's why I didn't like it.
James was what you get when you don't want to make an "action movie," but decide to settle for showing off cinematographic "dazzle." It's one of the dumbest films the now-defcunct factory everfy churned out.
I can't find the link to the interview, but you're free to search for it on the Internet. I most recall having seen it, certainly, at
http://www.nowrunning.com; it was an interview with Ram Gopal Varma, in which Varma discussed why he made
James. If I come across it, I'll post a link (or the entire conversation) on this thread.
Kurukshetra was an
excellent politically-charged action film, with a powerful lead performance.
It's bullshit that Varma's films are the best "political/criminal" ones.
Gangajal was terrific (no Varma), as was
Satta (again, no Varma). There're just so many films made, that the good ones often get lost in the crowd.
If you cannot see the similarity between the "fantasticness" with which Santoshi makes his film and with which Varma makes his, then ditto on the cessation of this conversation.
He doesn't portray them (cops) realistically; he portrays them as helpless sell-outs (though he, alone, is not guilty of this, most of his films have a criminal element, so the feebleness of the police ends up quite pronounced).
D was "OK,"
Ab Tak Chappan was great,
Ek Hasina Thi was good,
Sarkar was good,
James was shit,
Vaastu Shastra was quite good,
Darna Mana Hai was OK, and
Gayab was great (and under-rated and over-looked).
Yeah, "Ramu" is trying to explore, re-explore, recycle, re-tread, re-investigate, re-draw, re-this, and re-that the underworld. Message received: it's all he's comfortable doing (and he'll throw in a a cheesy, contrived "horror flick," every now and then).
Amitabh Bachchan's career (and its "bad" films) are Varma's inspiration. If you ever meet the guy, ask him whether this is true or not: I'm willing to bet almost all of it, that he'll answer "yes."