''Contract''-- Ramu's third gang flick to release next month

Bangkok, Jun 7 (UNI) Violence, terrorism and black magic. They fill up the screen for maverick film maker Ram Gopal Varma this year.

RGV, as he is popularly called, had a magical opening of ''Sarkar Raj'' with the Bachchan trio, earning accolades at its world premiere here yesterday and reporting bright opening in South Africa, London and back at home.

Now he is preparing for the release of his next movie on the underworld -- ''Contract''-- scheduled for next month and is also planning his first horror film ''Phoonk'', based on black magic for release in August.

''I am as comfortable with big stars as with freshers'', said the 46-year-old director when asked to diferentiate between ''Sarkar Raj'' with legendary Amitabh in title role and ''Contract'' starring mostly freshers. He decides upon the cast based on the needs of the script.

If ''Sarkar Raj'' demanded strong performances, ''Contract'' needed characters to enable the audience walk through the storyline without any fixation on the stars donning the role, Varma said.

He was full of praise for the performance of Amitabh Bachchan in ''Sarkar Raj''-- the sequel of ''Sarkar''. Known for his penchant for dark films, Varma said he had no fixation on such themes. It's just that the themes or ideas that he generates. He was for another romantic or musical like ''Rangeela''.

''I may do it soon or after five years. Much depends on when a script emerges, '' he said. But the director confesses ''normal civilised nice family peole bore me to death''.

He said ''Contract'' was in the backdrop of the evolving nexus between the underworld in Mumbai with terrorist networks from outside the country. Third in the row of gangster films after ''Satya'' and ''Company'', Varma said, people asked him why another gangster film when he had planned ''Contract''. According to him, films are primarily made on character conflicts and the issues it deal with. The background gives it a dimension.

The underworld background just gave it a sharp edge to make it more hard hitting, he said, adding that the sophistication and the nexus of terrorist groups with the underworld had made the criminal world more dangerous.

In 1998, when he made ''Satya'', there were 100 shootouts in Mumbai. In 2006 the number had drastically come down to a mere six.

The underworld gangs have become more dangerous and in some instances became a conduit for terrorist networks.

He said the terrorists require ground support, safe houses, local intelligence, sea and land routes to get in arms and explosives and informants in police departments. Since the underworld is a criminal business organisation, it could easily collude with the corrupt forces in the police department to which a terrorist cell might not have an access to . The menace of this nexus had caused a complex problem for the various investigating agencies such as RAW, IB, CB, CID and anti terrorists squad. ''Contract'' is a film in this backdrop, Varma said.

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