We had reported yesterday about filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma being embroiled in a controversy for his objectionable tweets on Lord Ganesh. But when asked about it, the filmmaker says that he believes in one’s freedom of expression. What’s more, RGV says that expressing what he feels in a manner he likes, is the way he enjoys being!
In a recent interview when Varma was asked about stirring up a controversy, this time with his remarks on Lord Ganesha, the filmmaker replied, “The moment you say, time and again it also means that it’s a part of my nature and inner personality to express what I feel in a manner I chose to. And this is not the first time I’ve done this. If people are interested, they can go and check my tweets in the last four years and they will find many similar ones.”
Quizzing him on whether he’s proud of it, he promptly said, “It’s the way I am. If you remember, there was a huge furore over an abusive word I used against Amitabh Bachchan. Everybody got into frenzy except him, whereas in reality, he should have been the only one to get upset. He didn’t get upset only because he knew and understood the context.”
Varma was booked on Sunday under four sections of the Indian Penal Code. A complainant even alleged him of hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by insulting Lord Ganesh through his series of tweets on the weekend.
Apparently, post his tweets on the micro-blogging site and his apology for it, Varma has been getting a lot of death threats. Talking about it he said, “It’s not true that I got death threats… as per the random comments from unknowns on the social network, everyone knows that those are just wild snarls from a hideout of anonymity.”
And lastly, being the straightforward person that he is Varma ended the conversation saying that he believes expressing his opinions, like everybody else, in a democracy. “People will believe what they want to believe irrespective of what I say. So there’s no point in saying anything… I am not attacking anything or anyone other than just expressing my opinions which I have a right to do like anyone else in a free democratic country,” he said.
