Thread by @VHSwaala

Much before ‘Satya’ (1998) which celebrates 20 years of existence today, came ‘Shiva’ (1990). There is a scene in ‘Shiva’ in which Nagarjuna breaks a cycle chain and uses it as a weapon to fight the goons. Like me, there were many young boys, who went home after watching the film

and tried to break their cycle chain only to realize that they were fooled by this new director called Ram Gopal Varma. Much later when I got a chance to work with him, the first thing I told him is how he had fooled us in ‘Shiva’. The cycle chain doesn’t break.

RGV just smiled and in his inimitable style said “Thanks!”

He was an unstoppable force in the 90’s. Hitting sixers, film after film. Before ‘Satya’, he made around 10 films but three films stood out amongst the ten. First was ‘Raat’ (1992) - a game changer in the horror genre.

Then came ‘Rangeela’ (1995), I call it an anti-depressant dose (there is another story behind it). ‘Shiva’, ‘Raat’ and ‘Rangeela’, these three films were enough for anyone to turn into his fan for life.

Then came ‘Daud’ (1997) which drew a cult following much later but flopped at the box-office because very few got the unusual humour of the film.

Everyone was waiting to see what he does next.

Satya was to release on 3rd July 1998. My friend, his girlfriend, my girlfriend at that time and I had booked the first-day first show ticket of the film at a theatre in Goregaon called Anupam.

A day before the release, on 2nd July 1998 early morning my girlfriend dropped a bomb. She wanted to break up with me. My head was full of questions - How will we watch the film now? Would I have to go alone? Late at night I summoned the courage to ask her

“Can we break up after the movie tomorrow? Can we all go watch the film?” She didn’t know what hit her. After much cajoling, she agreed and we went to watch Satya.

I still remember the effect of the film after walking out of the theatre, distinctly. I was in a hypnotic trance. The film was like a sucker punch in the gut. Until Satya, I was obsessed with Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ (1996).

I travelled every weekend from Andheri to Minerva (Grant Road) to watch the 11.30 am show of the film for a month. Back then it had only one show in Bombay. But Satya replaced everything I had seen about the underworld and films about gangs.

There were many in the genre in the 80’s and 90’s before ‘Satya’ like ‘Arjun’, ‘Ankush’, ‘Danga Fasad’, ‘Hafta Bandh’, ‘Aatish’ and the mother of all, ‘Parinda’.

Growing up on a diet of these films, entering an underworld gang was a legit career option and I came pretty close to joining one (That’s also another story).

For a 21-year-old me ‘Satya’ was like a drug. It did something to my senses. It gave me a high like no other. I watched it multiple times in the theatre. Once with eyes closed just to enjoy and experience the background score.

It was a masterclass in sound and the makers cashed in on that. They released an audio cassette titled ‘The Sound of Satya’. I think it was a first for Bollywood.

I listened to it in a loop. I don’t think I have been obsessed with any other background score the way I was with the one that Sandeep Chowta created in the film. ‘Parinda’ and ‘Satya’ are textbooks on how to marry sound with visuals.

Oh, and what happened to my girlfriend?

I could sail through the break-up because I had a balm for heartache. RGV's ‘Satya’. RGV now calls it an ACCIDENT. It’s been 20 years since ‘Satya’. I am still waiting for another ACCIDENT. Till then there are enough films in his filmography to revisit. Dear RGV, Thanks!