MUMBAI: Veteran filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma better known as RGV or Ramu in the industry and to his fans recently opened up about his unconventional stance on morality, religion, and freedom of expression. In a recent interview with Film Companion South, RGV also shed light on the origins of his rebellion and why he doesn’t respect morals. 

He said during the interview, "I live like a rebel. What is a rebel? Rebel is nothing but going against what is accepted. But I’ll always follow only one thing. I’ll follow the law. I don’t follow morality. I don’t follow religion, because the law is necessary. Because if you have to live in a city, you need to follow certain things for the sake of that. And it’s a small price to pay for all the benefits you get from society. So in the four aspects, the only thing I follow is the law. The other three, I don’t." 

RGV who will turn 62 this coming April argues that moral codes are subjective and can stifle freedom. "We are living in a world where there will be some countries where the ankle of the foot can’t be exposed in public. At the same time, there could be another country where wearing bikinis is not a problem. Then who will determine which is right and which is not? You have to do it.”

His upcoming film Vyooham slated to hit the theaters on February 23, traces the events before the untimely death of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. "It’s not politics that excites me, it’s the psychology behind it, the director says. The human interactions, conflicts of ego, and the thirst for power are what interest me. Many people define politics as the number of seats won by a party or mostly electoral politics. It is a separate thing that I am not interested in. I am interested in the power-play.”