Mumbai: Film director Ram Gopal Verma sparked off a controversy on Friday with a string of tweets questioning the basis of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
The two tweets said, "Did Lord Ganesha have a paunch in his childhood too or did it develop in the recovery time of the elephant head operation?"
"Can someone tell me if today is the day Ganesha was originally born or is it the day his dad cut his head off?"
When contacted, the filmmaker said, "I already said what I had to say in my tweets. There's nothing more I can say."
However, as his Twitter posts triggered an outrage, Varma took to the microblogging website to tender an apology.
His comments drew strong reactions from leaders across the political divide.
While Shaina NC of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it "blasphemous and insensitive", Congress' former MP from Mumbai Sanjay Nirupam demanded police action against him for violating the law of the land.
Prem Shukla of the Shiv Sena described Varma's Twitter comments as an "insult" to the "cultural and religious ethos" of Maharashtrians at a time when they were celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
He also questioned the timing of the tweets. "His comments at this time are intentional and merit criminal action against him. This is a cheap and dirty way to be in the news. This will create social disharmony," Shukla said.
As the director-producer faced an avalanche of criticism, he, in another Twitter post said," All tweets I put on Ganesha were in my usual manner but unintended by me to hurt anyone's sentiments...but if they did, I sincerely
apologize."
Varma, who gave films like 'Satya', 'Shool' and 'Rangeela', had triggered a major controversy when he accompanied the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his actor son Ritiesh to the Taj Hotel after the 26/11 terror attack. He was said to have gone there to plan a film on the terror assault.
The visit had created a nationwide outcry and ultimately led to Deshmukh's resignation. Varma denied that he had plans to make a film but eventually came up with a movie titled 'The Attacks of 26/11' in 2013.
With inputs from PTI
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