“In India, Diwali is just one day, but in Gaza, every day is Diwali,” Varma, known for acclaimed films such as Sathya and Company, wrote in an X post on Monday.
The remarks came as millions across India celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights that symbolizes the victory of good over evil.
Varma’s analogy, which equates a joyful religious festival to Israel’s two-year campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, was slammed across social media platforms as “vile”, “depraved” and “inhuman”.
Indian columnist Siddharth called Varma an “inhuman scum” and wondered, “What kind of despicable mind would say such a thing about a genocide where tens of thousands of young children are being slaughtered?” He later added, “What’s left for a virus to kill people in a morally corrupt country?”
Karachi-based journalist Faizan Lakhani wrote, “Ram Gopal Varma’s tweets say everything about the moral decline of some people in India.”
“This is the most shameless thing you’ll read on X today. From a failed movie to a failed humanity, this man’s fall is complete,” Lakhani added.
Political activist Mohit Bhan wrote: “It’s not surprising. For someone whose job is to sell human emotions for fame and money, empathy is the least of your expectations.”
Nikhil Mehra, a prominent Delhi lawyer, described Mr Varma as a “despicable and disgusting man”.
“Diwali is about hope, light and rebirth. Gaza is about survival. This man doesn’t know the difference between celebration and devastation,” said Rakhi Tripathi, an IT professor and peace activist, as reported by Press TV.
Other users pointed to the broader atmosphere in India. X user Saif wrote, “There is no Indian celebrity who cannot express solidarity with the people of Gaza for fear of boycott. But some are free to make nasty jokes about genocide. This is what characterizes India today.”
Another user, Raghava, added: “There is no moral ground left for anyone who still praises this man and his past ‘creative genius’.”
While pro-Israel sentiment dominates much of India’s social media, celebrities who support the Palestinians often face boycotts, trolls and harassment, demonstrating how deeply polarized discourse around Israel and Palestine has become.
Despite the mounting criticism, Varma has neither apologized nor deleted the post, Press TV reported.
India has forged closer military, strategic and diplomatic ties with Israel under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking a dramatic departure from New Delhi’s historic support for Palestine and decades of alignment with the Non-Aligned Movement.
Analysts argue that this shift is accompanied by an increasing normalization of anti-Palestinian rhetoric and dehumanizing discourse in some parts of India’s public and online spaces.
Historically, the South Asian country has consistently maintained a pro-Palestinian position at the United Nations.
India was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in the 1970s, and then granted it full diplomatic status in the 1980s.
PLO leader Yasser Arafat made several official visits to India during this period, reflecting the close ties between New Delhi and Palestine.
MNA