Ram Gopal Varma on Sunny Leone tweet: Those who show they are angry, enjoy most

The filmmaker, who later apologised to those “who genuinely got offended and not to those who ranted for publicity”, has opened up about his International Women’s Day tweet on Sunny Leone and about his upcoming film Sarkar 3.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma says he feels those who slam him for his controversial tweets, perhaps enjoy them the most. Varma, known for movies like Satya, Company and the Sarkar series, has faced the ire of feminists, activists and political parties for his controversial International Women’s Day comments on actor Sunny Leone, a former adult entertainer.

Ram Gopal Varma on March 8 had tweeted, saying as women in the world should give men as much happiness as actor Sunny Leone does.

His tweet, “I wish all the women in the world give men as much happiness as Sunny Leone gives”, triggered a storm of protests on Twitter.

Sunny Leone tweeted a video on her timeline on Thursday asking Indians to change their “mindset”. Though she didn’t take RGV’s name directly, it was evident who the subject of her video was.

The filmmaker, who later apologised to those “who genuinely got offended and not to those who ranted for publicity”, has opened up about the incident and about his upcoming film Sarkar 3.

Excerpts from his interview:

Your tweets seem to be offending a lot more people than they should?

I think those who show they are angry and offended by my tweets, enjoy them the most. I remember once after I was threatened and warned for my tweets... A cop called me. I thought he was going to arrest me. Instead, he said he was falling off his chair with laughter.

How has Sarkar 3 shaped up. Tell us about what we may expect in it?

I think it shaped up much more intense than the earlier two films, mainly because it has a larger scale and the negative characters are much more stronger. You can expect to see a lot of anger in Amitabh Bachchan and that obviously comes due to some highly dramatic situations.

What was it like working with Mr Bachchan again? What differences did you see in him now as an actor and a human being?

The main difference I saw in him now after working in so many films is that I suddenly see an additional spurt of intensity in him. That’s not to say he wasn’t intense before, but there’s a never before seen condensation of energy just waiting to be unleashed.

Ram Gopal Varma’s Twitter account keeps him in news even when he is not making films. (FILE PHOTO)

How does the story go forward now? Have you ensured that the franchise doesn’t look forced?

Like there was no connection between Sarkar and Sarkar Raj, here too, Sarkar 3 works as an independent story. It also deals with very complex relationship aspects which were previously untouched upon.

Recently, lots of films have been embroiled in controversies. Do you think it’s becoming harder for filmmakers to attempt real-life stories and characters? Even Sarkar is said to be based on Mr Bal Thackeray. Where do you stand on this?

Controversies mostly are blown up by the media much more than what they actually are. But of course, it’s again case to case. Sarkar is absolutely not based upon Bal Thackeray, but it is definitely inspired from him. If a man like Bala saheb can exist, Sarkar also can exist.

What are your future plans? Do you intend to divide your time between Hindi and Telugu cinema?

No. since I came back after taking a break, I am now going to do only Hindi films.

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