RGV claims Vilasrao did not take him to Taj

Last Sunday, when Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Dehmukh made his first official tour of the Taj Mahal Hotel, he drew flak soon after as the media speculated on why filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma and Vilasrao's actor son Riteish Deshmukh were a part of the Chief Minister's official entourage.

Reports suggest that Ramu - who loves take real life incidents and turn them into big screen dramas - might just be planning a film on the Mumbai terror attacks with Riteish in the cast.

CNN-IBN's acclaimed film critic Rajeev Masand met Ram Gopal Varma to know his version of the story.

We bring you the excerpts from the interview:

Rajeev Masand: Tell me, what exactly were you thinking when you decided to accompany the chief minister on his first official visit to the Taj?

Ram Gopal Varma: I knew Riteish for a long time and just happened to be with him at that time because we were discussing a project with him that I had announced more than three months back. And since he was going there (to the Taj Mahal Hotel that had just been rid of terrorists), I travelled with him to there. I have never been even formally been introduced to Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh. so I do not think that he was even aware that I was there with Riteish in the car. So once I was there, obviously there was some amount of curiousity that anybody could have, to see a place like this. And I was a part of the team by default, because of having been with Riteish.

Rajeev Masand: Are you seriously saying that you did not see this with the eyes of a filmmaker?

Ram Gopal Varma: Absolutely not, because like I said that I had no intention of making a film.

Rajeev Masand: But in people's eyes, this image of you searching for material to milk a tragedy of this magnitude for money, you are saying is incorrect?

Ram Gopal Varma: Absolutely incorrect! Because see, if you see the footage, it was given by Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh and people, himself. That itself proves that they had nothing to hide. They didn't make anything of it. I do not believe I made any error. It is being perceived because of media's speculation of my intention of why I was there, which is wrong. So, why would I say that I made an error?

Rajeev Masand: Did you see the potential there for a film?

Ram Gopal Varma: See, as a film maker I will see potential in any incident which is of such large magnitude. There is no doubt about it. The point is that this is of much more complex nature. The 1993 blasts were much more simple in its execution compared to this. It (still) took us years to get to the bottom of it about who is involved, who is not, and how it was all carried out etc. Obviously, in something like this of the sheer magnitude, large scale involved and the deaths that took place, not only me but how would any other film maker think of making a film on that so fast? Not only that, even if one assumes that I want to make a film, what can I get by a personal visit to the site that is being shown on TV? Instead, I will talk to an investigating officer, one to one, at a much later date, if I want to get the conspiracy behind it. How will I benefit by seeing a scene of the incident for that purpose?

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)