Did Ram Gopal Varma really call MSG saint an ‘ass’? Oops!

Move over Ram Gopal Varma and Karan Johar’s Twitter fights. The latest to face the criticism (read wrath) of the filmmaker is none other than the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, whose film, Msg - The Messenger Of God released last week. While critics were harsh in their reviews of the film, with most of them giving it not more that 0.5 stars, the very upfront RGV has gone a step ahead in his inimitable style and called the ‘Saint’ and ‘Ass’! 

Well well, as if the controversies around the film weren't already enough. Last month, while a host of members including the Central Board of Film Certification chief Leela Samson resigned, reportedly over the film getting a clerance certificate, it's screening was stalled at a Gurgaon theatre on it's earlier release date. And now, a week after it's release, one of the prominent actors in the film, Flora Saini revealed that she has been getting death threats from unknown people angry over her character in the film being a suicide bomber. The final nail in the coffin was however from RGV, who openly showed his disgust on Twitter for the film and it's lead actor Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and called him an 'ass'.

For the uninitiated, Msg - The Messenger Of God that released last Friday, deals with “youth-related” issues like drug abuse and alcoholism, showing the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh ‘Insan’ transform into a swaggering superhero to fight the social vices. In a television interview, Baba as he's addressed by his followers, said that he chose to cast himself in the lead instead of an A-lister from Bollywood because he’s convinced that he can “do better than Salman Khan”. In the film, Baba is seen in flashy bejeweled costumes like pop denims and diamond-encrusted head gears as he emerges atop his jazzy two-wheeler, doing all the unimaginable stunts – apparently without any body double - and cleans the vices off the society. 

Along with Baba - the saint of Sirsa himself, the film has been co-directed by Jeetu Arora – the same guy who made actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani a star. He was the one who directed the cult show, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on television for Ekta Kapoor. The film’s music, too, hit headlines with the song Love Chargers, sung and composed by the Dera chief himself, alongside an Ukrainian model amid a whopping crowd of 13 lakh people – supposedly all Baba’s followers!

Well, that is about the film. But RGV, too, seem to have embroiled himself in a new controversy with his latest lashout. Known for his upfront nature, the filmmaker has in the past caught himself in the face of controversies with his foot-in-mouth statements and actions. A day after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, RGV had visited the Taj Mahal Hotel with the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh that resulted in a huge uproar. Last year, he waged a virtual war on Ganesh Chaturthi by questioning the existence of the Lord Ganesha on Twitter thereby inviting the ire of the twitterati. Bollywood actor Sridevi last year sent a legal notice to Ram Gopal Varma over the title of his film - Sridevi. She said that the posters of his film titled Sridevi were obscene, sleazy and vulgar.