Varma denies meeting Dawood's sister

Mumbai, April 6 (IANS) A story that Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma had a hushed meeting with mobster Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena in the by-lanes of Mumbai has him scratching his head in puzzlement.

'I've never met the lady. In all my life I've probably seen one picture of her in a newspaper. I don't know where this story comes from,' Varma told IANS.

'In fact, they invented a whole screenplay where I'm shown driving up to a secluded spot and the lady's car driving up to meet me. Then we both supposedly took off for an unknown destination. This is a better screenplay than any I can think up,' added the director, known for films on organised crime like 'Satya', 'Company' and 'Sarkar'.

The shooting of his film 'Contract', which features an entirely new star cast, is over.

'So, I don't need to do any research for my film. And I don't need to meet people who can help me to know more about the underworld,' said the director who is currently readying 'Sarkar Raj' for release.

'Sarkar Raj', a sequel to 'Sarkar', stars Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

'And right now I'm focusing on the release on 'Sarkar Raj'.'

He also dismissed a report that after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, his uncle Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had a preview of 'Sarkar Raj'.