Before he made Satya, arguably his greatest piece of work, Ram Gopal Varma made Rangeela and Daud. One was a romantic-musical and the other an unpretentious comedy. With Satya, he dealt with the theme of the underworld, a subject barely tackled in Hindi Cinema. Both Rangeela and Satya were based in Mumbai. The film is a masterclass in filmmaking, how to get the aesthetics and atmospherics right, how to squeeze gritty and galvanised performances, and how to make the world of gangsters fascinating!

If Rangeela showcased the charming side of the city, the latter reflected upon the catastrophes that are waiting to explode here. If Rangeela was about an outsider who wishes to make it into the glittery world of Bollywood, Satya narrated the tale of how an outsider was sucked into the gritty world of the underworld.