Ram Gopal Varma and Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Ram Gopal Varma and Sandeep Reddy VangaCollage of photos taken from Twitter and Facebook

Hours after singer Chinmayi Sripaada thrashed Sandeep Reddy Vanga for defending his concept of love, ace filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma aka RGV batted for the Kabir Singh director by comparing his film to Baahubali 2.

Kabir Singh might have been a huge success at the box office, but it has faced the wrath of activists who are angry with Sandeep Reddy Vanga for glorifying violence against women. The film unit was keeping mum on the issue for the last two weeks until the director defended it in an interview to Anupama Chopra.

The clip featuring Sandeep Reddy Vanga, describing what love is, went viral and created ripples on social media on Sunday. Feminists had a field day as many of them shared this video and thrashed the director. Chinmayi Sripaada was one of those activists, who condemned Sandeep for showcasing violence in the name of love. In a series of tweets, she tried to prove his concept of love is wrong.

Chinmayi Sripaada: If a man is deeply connected with you - He will NEVER LAY HIS HANDS ON YOU. He will NEVER slap you. He will NEVER TOUCH YOU without your consent. Women (and young boys) have been told for aeons that being beaten up is a sign of *Love* / *Discipline*. IT IS ABUSE!

I am in love. My husband loves me to bits. He didn't have to hit me to prove that he is. Women stay in abusive marriages because men beat them up and then help them heal from the wounds that should have NEVER been there. Kids grow up in homes like this.

A man who gets a woman to remove her clothes at knife point is a troubled man. Yes, such men can be in love and their stories can be told. I have known of women who are in abusive relationships/marriages with men. But *glorifying those men as Gods* is the problem.

Trust me - when you are deeply connected with an individual and you're deeply in love - You'd NEVER do anything to hurt them.

Precisely the problem. When well meaning men will now normalise slapping the women they 'love' because they'll claim they're *deeply connected*. I guess the damage is done. God help us.

And I say both women and men should be in harmonious relationships for a healthy society. For homes to be healthy. For kids to grow up safe. That's all.

Feminism asks for equal rights. It's not OK for anyone to be slapped. It is not OK for any person of any gender to be in a toxic relationship. I do know that most women and men who use feminism in a negative context don't know what it stands for and that's OK.

Barely an hour after Chinmayi Sripaada's dig at him, Ram Gopal Varma took to his Twitter account to bat for Sandeep Reddy Vanga. RGV tweeted the link to his latest interview and praised him for his honesty and courage. He tweeted, "I think @imvangasandeep is the most perfect mix of innocent honesty and truthful courage.. This interview of his,is as pathbreaking as his #KabirSingh."

Ram Gopal Varma did not stop there. He went on to say that the success of Kabir Singh is four times bigger than SS Rajamouli's historical blockbuster Baahubali 2. In a series of tweets, the controversial filmmaker also said that his story and characters are the exact opposite of what the film industry believes. They are exactly what the audience will love and relate to.

Ram Gopal Varma: Speaking only of Hindi,In ratio of ROI(Return on investment) @imvangasandeep 's KABIR SINGH is 4 times bigger hit than BAHUBALI 2 and taking time into consideration it is 16 times bigger hit than BAHUBALI 2 considering KABIR SINGH was made in 6 months and BAHUBALI 2 in 2 years

Amazing thing about @imvangasandeep is that his story and it's characters are the exact opposite of what the film industry always believed,what the audience will love and relate to .. #KabirSingh 's monstrous success proves that he knows the actual reality of the audience

Me toasting ⁦⁦@imvangasandeep⁩ at Mumbai's Alfredo's in celebrating #KabirSingh 's Godzillian success

https://www.ibtimes.co.in/sandeep-reddy-opens-kabir-singh-reviewers-calls-them-parasites-pseudo-critics-801137