Ram Gopal Varma shared a surprising emotional response after watching parts of the Michael Jackson biopic, sparking conversations online about his unusual perspective.
Updated: May 22, 2026 4:01 PM IST
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has shared a deeply emotional and unusual reaction after watching the biopic Michael, based on the life of Pop Father Michael Jackson. The film starring Jaafar Jackson reportedly brought back strong personal memories for him and left him overwhelmed. In a long emotional note, the director expressed how the biopic took him back to a moment that changed his perception of music and life forever. His words quickly grabbed attention online as he spoke about admiration, loss of memory and a painful sense of reality connected to the icon’s death.
RGV recalls the day he learned about Michael Jackson’s death
Taking to social media, Ram Gopal Varma shared that the film instantly transported him back to June 25, 2009, the day he first heard about Michael Jackson’s death. He described waking up to television screens showing the breaking news with stark white letters against a black background announcing, “Michael Jackson is Dead.”
He wrote that for several seconds, he believed it was a nightmare and could not accept what he was seeing. According to him, the news ticker continued running and every channel carried the same announcement, which slowly forced him to accept the truth.
Childhood memories and influence of Michael Jackson
RGV also reflected on how deeply Michael Jackson influenced him during his college days. He recalled watching Thriller in a small video parlour in Vijayawada and described it as a life changing experience. He said Jackson’s music and visuals reshaped his imagination and showed him a completely new world of creativity. According to him it felt like witnessing something beyond human limits and he often referred to Jackson as a larger than life presence.
King of Pop Michael Jackson (PC: Pinterest)
See viral post of RGV for King of Pop here
I HATE MICHAEL
After watching MICHAEL film , my memory went back to that horrible day June 25 th , 2009 when I slept late with the television still murmuring like a ghost in the darkness of my room , and as I groggily woke up in the morning and my eyes went to the screen to see…
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) May 22, 2026
Emotional breakdown and “betrayed fantasy” comment
In his note the filmmaker said he always viewed Michael Jackson as almost godlike which made his death extremely difficult to process. He expressed frustration that even such an iconic figure was ultimately human and mortal. RGV wrote that Jackson “back stabbed” him and “betrayed my fantasy” because his passing shattered the idealised image he had built over years.
He added that seeing news of his death made him feel like a dream had turned into a nightmare. Despite his emotional anger he also admitted that he continues to love Michael Jackson deeply and considers him unmatched in impact and creativity.
King of Pop Michael Jackson (PC: Pinterest)
Also read: When Michael Jackson stopped time, 2-minute pause that made super bowl iconic
About the Michael Jackson biopic success
The film Michael directed by acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua stars Jaafar Jackson in the lead role along with Colman Domingo, Nia Long and Miles Teller. Made on a budget of $155–$200 million the film has turned into a global blockbuster.
It has earned $716 million worldwide and achieved a record breaking $217.4 million opening weekend making it the biggest biopic opening in cinema history after passing giants like Oppenheimer and Bohemian Rhapsody. It also recorded $39.5 million opening day in the US and currently stands among the highest grossing biographical films of all time.
