RGV came in for huge praise from the likes of Nag and Rajamouli, Puri and Boyapati, Venky and Harish Shankar, etc at the 'Shiva to Vangaveeti' event held yesterday in Hyderabad. Here is what the guests said about RGV.

Tanikella Bharani said, "Ram Gopal Varma has his own stamp in the history of cinema. I will always cherish my association with him. 'Shiva' and 'Vangaveeti' combined would be Sivangi, which means a tigress. Even when it comes to tigers, Varma loves the female one."

Harish Shankar said, "It's because of him that I became a director. While Varma garu is a director for others, he is hero to me. Whichever punch line you take, it suits him. 'Nakkonchem thikkundi, kani daniko lekkundi' suits him. So also 'Neno elago ala bathikeyadaniki Mumbai raledu..' is another dialogue that suits him. He has grown to be a personality beyond cinema."

Gunasekhar said that he felt fortunate to have taken two steps with RGV. "I wish that his journey will go on and on. 'Vangaveeti' cannot be his last Telugu film. If he stops making films in Telugu, we will sit out on a fast unto death. I wish that we will be inspired by this film the way we were inspired by watching 'Shiva'. We continue to learn from his movies."

Sudheer Babu, who grew up in Vijayawada, said that he had been witness to the feuds in his hometown as child. "Varma garu makes movies based on real-life incidents. I think films based on him will be made in future."

YVS Chowdhary said, "NTR garu was the inspiration to me for entering the industry. If my parents gave birth to me, it was Nagarjuna garu who gave birth to the director in me. I call him a celluloid scientist. It was RGV garu who gave him the strength to choose newcomers. It's RGV garu alone who has the guts to make trend-setting movies. I worked under him for 'Govinda Govinda'. Dealing with subjects like these is an in-born talent that he has got."

B Gopal said, "Our Ramu is a wonderful director. It was he who used the steady cam technique. It was he who made sound a prominent element in Telugu cinema. We all feel proud of him. I believe that God sent him to Earth so that he can make great movies. The credit goes to Nagarjuna garu for introducing our Ramu."

Boyapati Sreenu said, "I watched 'Shiva' when I was a student. It is only RGV garu who can depict even a 'Godfather' in a unique way. While 'Shiva' is his first movie is the truth, 'Vangaveeti' is his last Telugu movie is a lie."

Vamshi Paidipally said, "I was in Class VI when 'Shiva' was released. There would be whistles in the theatre whenever the chain is pulled, whenever someone says Shiva'. The film has had a great influence on every director."

Producer PVP said that every scene in 'Vangaveeti' comes with a lot of detailing. "Hats off to RGV garu for showing the 30 years of Vijayawada's history."

Puri Jagannadh said, "I have been leading a 'married life' ('kapuram') with RGV for 25 years now. Yet his love for me has not diminished. I have watched the first 40 minutes. I was in tears watching some of the scenes. The people of Vijayawada will like this film a lot. Those who have acted in 'Vangaveeti' will become stars."

Revanth Reddy, the TDP leader, said, "RGV garu's movies are in such a way that one would want to be like Shiva while watching 'Shiva', Amitabh Bachchan while watching 'Sarkar' and JD Chekravarthy while watching 'Sathya'. He should make Telugu movies for us."

Rajamouli said, "I knew that Ramu garu doesn't like his assistants wishing him Good Morning. So, when I wanted to meet him many years ago, I wanted to say 'Hello, Sir', which I practised 100 times. He inspired many of us by making 'Shiva'. I have known him for 3 years now. I did ask him as to why he made films like 'Ice Cream'. I didn't understand his answer. He seems to have made 'Vangaveeti' with so much love. RGV is back, is what I feel. 'Maranam' is a very good song from the movie. The visuals have really touched me. Watching the trailers, one feels they are original characters."

Victory Venkatesh said, "When I expected him to make a 'Shiva' or something even better after 'Shiva', RGV made 'Kshana Kshanam' with me. He would make me sit on the sidelines and shoot a song on Sridevi. He asked me if I felt bad, to which I said I was actually enjoying that. Nagarjuna did a whole fight by just pulling the cycle chain. The way fights were shot changed after this movie."

Nagarjuna said, "All actors try to be like Amitabh garu. One hopes he will continue to act in films for many more years and that he leads a healthy life. Ramu is like a brother to me. He is more like a friend. He enacted the scene in 'Antham' where the hero is pierced with knife while giving the narration. I don't think I gave him break with 'Shiva'. It was a give and take thing. I wouldn't get along with people initially. But even during those days, Ramu and I used to converse about everything from stars to Bruce Lee. It was thus my confidence in him grew. 'Shiva' was a life-changing movie for me. It changed Telugu cinema. 'Shiva' should be among the best 100 movies ever made in India. Rajamouli garu is now creating a sensation with 'Baahubali'. Many have wanted to do 'Shiva2' with me. I will do it if it's Ramu."

Ram Gopal Varma said, "Amitabh ji had t