MM Keeravani calls Ram Gopal Varma his ‘first Oscar’; the filmmaker reacts

Ram Gopal gave MM Keeravani his first break in the film industry with his 1991 film Kshana Kshanam

In a recent interview, Keeravani recalled his early days in the business

Indian music composer MM Keeravani who won the Oscar for the Best Original Song category at this year’s ceremony, in a recent interview, gave the credit for his success to filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. The composer called the Satya director his ‘first Oscar’. He added that Ram Gopal gave him his first break in the film industry with his 1991 film Kshana Kshanam. The filmmaker later took to Twitter to react to the compliment, saying, “Hey @mmkeeravaani⁩ I am feeling dead because only dead people are praised like this (cry face emoticons)..”

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In the interview, Keeravani recalled his early days in the business, when Ram Gopal had delivered a big hit film, Siva. Keeravani added that the director had taken a chance on him at the time, which helped the composer become more well-known among those in the industry.

He said, “Let me tell you something Bharadwaj garu. Ram Gopal Verma was my first Oscar. Now I received the Academy Award in 2023, it is my second Oscar. Let me tell you why. Because like all the people I approach around 51 people, they might have... some of them might have thrown my audio cassette into the trash can... never heard me... who cares? A stranger approaches you and asks you to listen to his tune... some of them might have liked but they are not interested. But that was my merit.”

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The musician added that Ram Gopal played an ‘Oscar role’ in his career and association with the filmmaker helped him get more projects. “Ram Gopal Verma gave me a chance to work for his movie Kshana Kshanam, but he was the 'Siva' Ram Gopal Verma... Siva played an Oscar role for him because it was his first movie being a mega-hit. And Ram Gopal Verma played an Oscar role in my career. He was my Oscar. So, who is this Keeravani who is this person... you never heard of him. But Mr Ram Gopal Verma is working with him now. That must be something. Book him, come on! Let's have him four our project also. That's how Ram Gopal Verma's association helped me in getting more chances. That's how he helped me a lot,” he said.