The Oscar people want an MSG sequel, says the rockstar godman with the long name in this interview where Sudhish Kamath has his tongue firmly in cheek

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh may be a godman under investigation, but there’s no denying that he is a YouTube viral sensation. Even his press conferences draw crowds. So it’s not that surprising that the makers have released MSG: The Messenger in 2,500 screens in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. We sat down with the Baba for an interview. Excerpts:

Baba , aren’t you scared of people poking fun at you or bad reviews?

I have just one passion, beta. To do good for society. Let people say anything.

You are credited, among many things in the film, as director of photography. How did you manage to be in front of camera and behind it? How did you learn about cameras and lenses?

It’s God’s gift. I first just asked people what the camera does and what is the function of which lens, and they would tell me this is a 10, this is a 25 and its range is till here ( he gestures)… Or this is wide, used for wide shots or a close used for close-ups… It’s no big deal. If you want a wide, you put the wide lens. If you want a close, you put close… what’s there to learn in this? Ho gaya. (It was done.)

You say the AIB roast is against our culture without having seen it. Do you think our culture is so weak that it gets diluted by swear words?

No, not weak at all. Not by swearing. But if there was any kind of nudity or if the words used are such that a father cannot see it with his daughter then…

Babaji , you forget this is the culture that gave us Kamasutra.

But nobody reads it in front of a father-daughter…

(We inform him that the show was strictly for adults.)

Some of the erotic sculptures are part of our temples.

I don’t know if these are there in temples, but I have not seen them, beta. Maybe they are done by some artists in caves, but why would parents take their children there?

Have you written the story for MSG ?

Yes, but these are not stories, these are true. Even for MSG-2, I have written the story but have added some elements of fiction that we need for films. We are done shooting 70 per cent of the film. It’s about the social evils in the tribal belt — they decapitate people, walk around naked, drink toddy, even 15-year-olds have broken teeth because they fight… then there’s superstition, child marriage… I lived with the tribals in the forest for two years around 1999-2000. They attacked me but I would appeal to them peacefully. When we show all this in movies, we have to add stunts. Those who have seen the rushes say it has the scale and grandeur of Hollywood… except we haven’t shown nudity. The Oscar ( he wonders if he pronounces it right) people have also asked me to give them a film that’s worthy of it.

Now that you are a movie-star with a film opening in 2,500 screens, shouldn’t you also be paid a movie-star salary?

Yes, I have told the producers that I will charge them but only to aid charitable causes. I want to end thalassemia and will be using my fees for the research… there have been some breakthroughs but it costs Rs. 35-40 lakh, making it unaffordable even for the rich. So I asked them why can’t we prevent this disease? They said the research would require a lot of money. So I decided to raise funds for it.