The fire that Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag sparked off has been doused. What Babban of Aag or Vijay of Nishabd could not do for Ram Gopal Varma could well be achieved by an ageing Subhash Nagre, his family and foes in Sarkar Raj. Though trade experts aren’t calling the film a success, they are saying that it has helped Varma consolidate his position in Bollywood. So much so that people are waiting to see Varma’s magic unfold in his forthcoming Contract and Phoonk.

Says trade expert Taran Adarsh: Sarkar Raj has salvaged Ram Gopal Varma’s reputation. The film has done really well in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai. People have liked the effort, whereas in the case of Aag, there was unanimous backlash.” He adds, “After Sarkar Raj, I think people have forgiven Varma.”

Komal Nahta, editor of Film Information and The Film Street Journal, thinks the director probably became a bit complacent: “All his films that didn’t work prove they were half-hearted attempts; they were badly scripted.” Nandu Ahuja of Balaji Motion Pictures, Sarkar Raj’s distributor, says, “Sarkar Raj is doing reasonably well.”

Whatever the experts say, one thing is clear, RGV’s next film Contract will be releasing in a positive atmosphere. “A filmmaker is always recognised by his past record, Contract shall benefit somewhat from the super success of Sarkar Raj,” says Ranjan Singh, GM, marketing and sales, PVR Pictures. “I’m looking forward to Phoonk and Contract. They are small films in terms of budget but the content sounds interesting,” says Adarsh.

Of them, while Contract hits the screen with 250-odd prints on July 18, Phoonk will open with 300 prints on August 22. Adhvik Mahajan is the protagonist in Contract whereas Kannada star Sudeep plays the lead in Phoonk. While the first one is touted to be the last of the gangster trilogy after Satya and Company, Phoonk, as Varma puts it, is a “scary film”. For obvious reasons, expectations run high for Contract as it comes from the master of gangland cinema. Varma says, “Contract is about the coming together of a terrorist and an underworld don for one particular event.” And Singh adds, “Contract shows the evolution of the underworld and its increasing bent towards terrorism, which shall generate audience’s interest.”

The producer of Phoonk, Azam Khan, feels content is the strongest point of his film. According to him, the film is an emotional horror drama that revolves around black magic. “Varma has an excellent track record in horror films,” he says, while praising the maker’s technical expertise. Actor Zakir Hussain, who is almost a regular in RGV films, says, “Varma is a trendsetter who dreams films and lives films.