Iconic filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma is hailed for his ground-breaking films but regularly criticised for his insensitive remarks and activities. Here are some of his biggest controversies!
Ace director, Ram Gopal Varma is commonly known as RGV by his fans and media. Over the years, apart from being a filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma has worked as a writer, producer, screenwriter, playback singer, and editor in Hindi and Telugu cinema. Ram Gopal Varma was born on April 7, 1962, and is often regarded as the father of gritty realism in genres like docu-drama and parallel cinema. The filmmaker has given Indian cinema some of its biggest hits like Kshana Kshanam, Money, Shool, Prema Katha, Rangeela, Satya, Company, Sarkar, Sarkar Raj, The Attacks of 26/11, and the list goes on.
Despite all the success that he has achieved on the professional front, Ram Gopal Varma's fan-following has declined massively in the last 10 years. Although there are countless controversies related to Ram Gopal Varma but here are some that had simply broken the hearts of his die-hard fans and devotees. So without further ado, let's get straight into the famous controversies of Ram Gopal Varma's life!
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Late legendary actress, Sridevi is one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. While some were mesmerised by her acting chops, some still talk about her dancing talent, which was, without doubt, second to none during her lifetime. However, back in December 2015, Ram Gopal Varma had shared his controversial thoughts on Sridevi's illustrious success in the Indian film industry. The ace filmmaker tweeted that it was Sridevi's 'thunder thighs' that had made her a better actress than the iconic actress, Smita Patil and many others.
Even RGV's die-hard fans were disheartened to witness such a disgraceful statement from the man, who once used to break headlines for his filmmaking chops. Ram Gopal Varma's controversial tweets about Sridevi's thighs could be read as:
"If only acting talent is a measure for stardom why wasn't Smita Patil bigger than Srideviji. The thunder thighs made the difference. Sridevi's fame is not only because of her acting capacity but it's also because of her thundering thighs- top critics of Himmatwala time."
The tweet had left the entire film fraternity and every film enthusiast furious, and soon Ram Gopal Varma was trending all over the internet. While some had advised him to get off the internet, some had also called him a 'mad man'.
In 2018, Hyderabad police had charged filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma with his alleged involvement in making a pornographic film with the International adult star, Mia Malkova. The film was reportedly a docu-drama based on the life of Mia Malkova and had faced numerous complaints from women's rights groups in different parts of the country.
Ram Gopal Varma was booked for allegedly demeaning the modesty of a woman, and a case of obscenity was filed against him. People had also criticised him for his alleged involvement in producing pornographic films and drifting away from the crime-thriller genre that had made him who he is today. Although the matter was resolved with time, Ram Gopal Varma's alleged involvement in producing pornographic content was a stain that has stuck to his name since then.
In 2017, on the occasion of International Women's Day, Ram Gopal Varma had tweeted a controversial statement about the actress, Sunny Leone. While wishing everyone on women's day, the ace filmmaker had shared an insensitive message in which he had made a disrespectful statement about every single woman in the world. Her tweet could be read as:
"I wish every woman gives a man same happiness like Sunny Leone gives."
It was in June 2016, when Ram Gopal Varma was trolled for his insensitive and demeaning tweets about the legendary actor, Rajinikanth. The filmmaker had compared Rajinikanth with Amitabh Bachchan and had explained how the South Indian superstar would never be able to compete with Big B. Although he had called himself a fan of Rajinikanth, but his tweets criticising Rajinikanth for no reason hadn't gone well for him.
Apart from his baseless comparison between Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, Ram Gopal Varma had also taken an insensitive dig at the latter as he had asked him to do something about the life-threatening virus, COVID-19. When people were losing their loved ones, RGV's tweet made people lose all the respect they had for him in their hearts.
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Famous filmmaker, Anurag Kashyap has always talked highly of Ram Gopal Varma in his interviews and has always credited him for inspiring him and many other filmmakers in the country who are inclined toward the crime and thriller genre. However, in 2015, Ram Gopal Varma had even irked one of his admirers, Anurag, with his senseless tweet. RGV had taken a dig at the failure of Anurag's film, Bombay Velvet, which made the latter furious. However, Anurag hadn't lost his cool and had advised RGV to get-off Twitter to have some sleep. Their respective tweets could be read as:
"@RGVzoomin sir i love you too much.. now put that Vodka aside and sleep.. lots of kisses."
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From penning demeaning thoughts about an actress to making fun of other filmmakers, Ram Gopal Varma was still tolerable for everyone. But, in 2008, everyone had lost all their hopes in him to restore his sanity. After the terror attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai, the whole nation was numbed, terrorised, and mourning the loss of countless innocent lives. However, in the middle of this chaos, Ram Gopal Varma had taken the most controversial and insensitive decision of his life, as he had decided to go on a recce of the places where the terror attacks had happened.
For the unversed, recce is the term used in filmmaking, which means to visit the place of the location where you are going to shoot next. In order to get a plan of how you're going to shoot, it's important to visit the place and do a recce before the actual filming. So yes! You read it right. Ram Gopal Varma had gone to Taj and Trident hotel for taking a look at the massacre done by the terrorists.
When the news of Ram Gopal Varma visiting the Taj hotel had broken out, Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, and several others had criticised the director for being utterly insensitive. Finally, in March 2013, Ram Gopal Varma's film, The Attacks of 26/11, was released, and it had explained everything to the people who were hoping for the reports of RGV visiting the Taj and Trident hotel for a recce to be false.
There is no denying the fact that Ram Gopal Varma is one of the finest directors in the history of cinema and has played a significant role in bringing crime and thriller films to the forefront in Hindi cinema. However, it cannot overrule another disappointing fact that, as a person, Ram Gopal Varma has been highly insensitive over the years, which has rapidly degraded his fan following. Once again, we hope Ram Gopal Varma restores his sanity and enlightens us with his filmmaking geniuses before it's too late.
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