After all these years of making movies about gangsters and ghosts, Ram Gopal Varma has probably lost the ability to differentiate the reel from the real. Which is perhaps why, much like the characters in his many films about the Mumbai underworld, the filmmaker is having difficulty in perceiving women as equals instead of glamorous props. His autobiography, titled Guns and Thighs, made that amply clear, especially the part in which he attributed Sridevi’s success to her thunder thighs.

Or maybe he is just trying to publicise his upcoming film based on the life and crimes of sandalwood brigand Veerappan by getting himself in the news for all the wrong reasons. After all, there is no such thing as bad publicity, right?

Whatever be the reason, Varma’s tweet — five days after the assembly election results were declared in five states and Assamese actress Angoorlata Deka won from the Batadroba constituency — did not appear to be in good humour. Along with two photos of Deka — one as a model, the other of her in campaign mode — Varma tweeted: “If MLA can look like this,Achche din aagaye hai..Thank you Angoorlataji,Thank you Modiji..1st time I love politics.”

To be fair, Varma was not the only one with an inappropriate tweet. Images, both real and fake, flooded social media, along with captions like “She may become the reason for 100℅ attendance in Vidhan Sabha.” But it was Varma who bore the brunt of those voicing their ire against the blatant sexism, in the form of hashtags like #SaySorryRGV and the Lage Raho Munnabhai-inspired #GetWellSoonRGV. Then there were those who, while acknowledging Deka’s good looks, said the newly-elected MLA has a lot more to offer as a lawmaker.