Varma Questions Look of Suspects in Tiger Shroff Car Firing

Mumbai, October 23: Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has weighed in on the appearance of the alleged shooters in the firing case involving Tiger Shroff's car. He compared them with the kind of criminals typically cast in films.

In a post on X, Varma said the people accused of firing at Tiger Shroff would not be chosen even for a small part, such as a boy delivering tea to a villain's den in a movie.

He wrote, "The shooter who attacked Tiger Shroff looks like someone who would not get even the tea delivery boy role in any film's villain hideout."

Varma said that criminals in real life often look very different from those shown in movies. He also referred to Dawood Ibrahim, the most talked-about gangster in India, to support his observation.

He suggested that if a film were made on Dawood Ibrahim, the makers might not cast even someone who resembles the don to play his character.

He further wrote, "Real-life casting directors are far stranger than film casting directors." Casting director Mukesh Chhabra was also tagged in his post.

The comment sparked a debate on social media, with some users backing Varma and others offering a different perspective.

One user argued that casting directors choose faces that sell rather than faces that reflect reality. The user added that Bollywood usually portrays gangsters in suits and beards, while real offenders may look like everyday people.

Another user suggested that Varma, having worked as a filmmaker for years, could try playing a character himself, such as Dawood Ibrahim.

Earlier, Varma had called the Tiger Shroff firing incident unusual. He had said such attacks are usually driven by extortion, contract killings, or personal rivalries, but in this case the motive seemed to be ego and show-off.

He had written that nothing like this had been seen before. For the first time, he said, the attempt to kill appeared to be about ego and reputation rather than money or revenge.

The firing took place on October 19 outside a football club near Pushpa Narsi Park in Mumbai's Juhu area. Tiger Shroff was safe, but his driver and an auto-rickshaw driver were hurt.