Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is once again getting a lot of hate after posting something provocative on X (previously Twitter) on September 5 for Teachers’ Day. The director, who is notorious for saying what he thinks, caused a stir on social media when he put wanted terrorist and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim on a list of persons who had influenced his career.
Varma stated in the article, “Here’s a BIG SALUTE to all the GREATS who inspired me… starting with AMITABH BACHCHAN, STEVEN SPIELBERG, AYN RAND, BRUCE LEE, SRIDEVI, and DAWOOD IBRAHIM. “Happy Teachers Day.” The post, which the filmmaker did not delete or explain, rapidly went viral. People online called him out for “glorifying” a criminal on a day designed to celebrate mentors.
People on social media have been very angry with what Varma said, saying he made fun of the event and asking what he could have learned from a terrorist. Some people were scornful, while others pointed out that the director has been interested in the underworld for a long time, even though it has caused a lot of trouble.
Varma has publicly connected his work to Dawood Ibrahim before. He famously said in an interview, “I owe my living to Dawood Ibrahim,” noting that his career was based on gangster movies that were inspired by the Mumbai mafia. He has also directed movies like D Company, which was about the life of a legendary criminal. The event has generated another public debate about the thin line between drawing inspiration from art and glorifying crime.