Ram Gopal Varma reaches out to former child actor, apologises for scene in ‘Shiva’

Director Ram Gopal Varma, known for making several acclaimed films in Bollywood, reached out to former child actor who worked in his film ‘Shiva’, recently on X to apologise. The director reminded her of the iconic cycle chase scene in the film, which was also his directorial debut, and tendered an apology for subjecting her to some risky shots during the stunt. The former actor Sushma, is now pursuing her PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. Interestingly, ‘Shiva’ has been restored in 4K resolution and will be released in theatres soon.

Ram Gopal Varma wrote, "This is the grown up girl Sushma from the iconic cycle chase scene in 'SHIVA' where she is sitting scared on the bar with Nagarjuna cycling in tension. Sushma is now doing research in AI and Cognitive Science in the USA."

Soon after he posted this tweet, Sushma responded to Ram Gopal Varma, saying, "Thank you, sir! Honoured to be remembered as part of Shiva's legacy. That experience as a child was unforgettable, and I'm grateful to have contributed to such an iconic film. Wishing you @RGVzoomin and @iamnagarjuna continued success with the Shiva 4K release!"

The ace director then tendered an apology to Sushma saying, "Hey, please accept my sincere apologies after 36 years for subjecting you to such a traumatic experience which I didn't realise at that time ..The directorial greed in me took over in being blinded to subjecting a little girl like you to such risky shots ..I apologise once again."

For the unaware, 'Shiva' marked Ram Gopal Varma's debut in direction. It featured actors Nagarjuna and Amala in the lead and late actor Raghuvaran as the antagonist. The cycle chase being referred to by Ram Gopal Varma in the film happens when Nagarjuna, who plays a student who is actively involved in college politics, is attacked by a group of gangsters when he is out on a bicycle. To compound his problems, Nagarjuna has a child (his niece) with him at the time of attack. The film, which went on to emerge a superhit, was remade in Tamil as 'Udhayam'. The Tamil version of the film too was immensely successful