Ram Gopal Varma is one of the most acclaimed directors in the film industry. But imagine meeting him and not recognising who he is? Sounds impossible, right? Not really, because that’s exactly what happened to veteran actor Gajraj Rao.

In a recent episode of Mid-day’s podcast series The Bombay Film Journey, Rao shared a hilarious incident from his early days in the industry. He recalled chatting with Ram Gopal Varma for about 20 minutes without realising who he was speaking to.

When Gajraj Rao failed to recognise Ram Gopal Varma

It happened during the time Sanjay Leela Bhansali was casting for Khamoshi. A bunch of people had gathered, and Rao was sitting a little away from the crowd. A gentleman from the South was seated next to him. Rao thought it was a good time to strike up a conversation, completely unaware of the man’s identity.