Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has once again stirred controversy with a provocative comment — this time on the Gaza conflict.
On Diwali, the director posted on X (formerly Twitter): “In INDIA only one day is DIWALI and in GAZA, every day is DIWALI🔥🔥🔥” (sic).
The remark quickly went viral, sparking widespread outrage online.
Political leaders and netizens accused Varma of being insensitive and trivialising a humanitarian tragedy.
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi strongly condemned the post, saying, “Imagine comparing Diwali celebration to Gaza’s crimes of war. At least these social media platforms helped us identify the ‘famous’ yet hateful amongst us. What makes a person so hateful is something I’ll never fathom or ever hope to.”
AICC Media Coordinator Harmeet Kaur K also slammed the tweet, calling it “shocking” and accusing the filmmaker of “celebrating our festival with genocide and killing of babies.”
This isn’t the first time RGV has courted controversy; he made a similar remark during Diwali in 2023, which also drew sharp criticism.
Prominent journalists Sara Ather and Rana Ayyub joined in the backlash.
“People outside India cannot even begin to comprehend the absolute gutter level of politics that is mainstream in India and is very much advocated by Indian celebrities,” Ather posted.
The filmmaker has not issued any clarification at the time of writing.
