Controversy queen? The many times that Ramya stirred up a storm

Actress and politician Ramya is not new to controversies; in fact, she has been called the ‘controversy queen’ on many occasions. Off late, it looks like the actress just can’t get a break, what with her every comment coming under scrutiny, and she receiving backlash online. We list some of her biggest controversies, some dating back many years…


Absence during Cauvery protests (September 2016)

When the state witnessed unrest over the Cauvery water-sharing issue, Ramya was trolled on Twitter as people questioned her for not being on the streets of Mandya — where protests were most intense — protesting with the farmers, or with Sandalwood stars when they went out on the streets of Bengaluru. Her retort to the trollers was, “My support for the farmers goes beyond protesting on the streets. It’s an on going long term solution.” This tweet was trolled within minutes, with people saying, “But when election comes you go to Streets? sit at home and tweet ‘give me vote’..”

‘BJP, RSS had no role in freedom fight’ (August 2016)

Ramya stirred up quite a storm when, speaking after the National Students’ Union rally in Bengaluru, she reportedly claimed that the BJP and RSS never fought for India’s freedom, and they, instead, had joined the British during the struggle for Independence. Reports quoted her as telling the media, “Only the Congress had fought for India’s freedom from British. We have people from all walks of life who represent different language, religion, culture. So we should see all of them as equals.”

‘Pakistan is not hell’ (August 2016)

After returning from the SAARC Youth Summit in Pakistan, Ramya spoke about that country’s hospitality, saying that “Pakistan is not hell”. This led to backlash, both online and offline, with people protesting against her and some even asking her to move to Pakistan. Certain people protested also because they believed that her statements were a rebuttal to Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's comment that “going to Pakistan is like going to hell”. Actor-politician Jaggesh was one among the few who is rumoured to have said that India doesn’t need people like her.

The Neer Dose debacle (April 2013)

Soon after Ramya’s plunge into politics, she said that she would quit the film world. But, she had committed to a few movies, including Neer Dose. There was a lot of confusion as Ramya initially said that she wouldn’t do the film, but then went on to shoot for it. Once shoot was on, things took an unexpected turn when she filed a complaint against two photographers and two journalists for publishing her photograph from the set without her permission. The pictures were sent to newspapers and some made their way to Twitter. Although the photos were removed immediately, Ramya was upset.

Spat with Yash (January 2012)

In 2012, Ramya and Yash were paired for the movie Lucky. But word soon got out that the two couldn’t get along with each other while on the sets, apparently because of their attitude issues. The actors confirmed this when, during an event, they took a dig at each other. During a speech, Ramya lauded Yash’s efforts, but added that he had the same attitude as Sudeep. She quickly also said that like Sudeep, Yash gets involved with every shot. This irked Yash, who shot back in his speech by saying that he was not a born actor like Ramya, and that even though she was on her mobile phone for long stretches of time, even when the shot was ready, she gave perfect shots without any rehearsals.

The Dandam Dashagunam controversy (March 2011)

Ramya found herself in the midst of quite a controversy when she was absent at the audio launch of her 2011 film, Dandam Dashagunam. The movie’s producer, A Ganesh, told the media at the launch that Ramya refused to attend the event as her dues were not cleared. He added that an hour prior to the event, he paid her the full amount, but she still didn’t turn up, and that he would complain to the film chamber. With the film industry pitted against her, the actress chose to remain quiet, but tweeted that she would quit films. At the press conference of Sanju Weds Geetha, she broke down while strongly defending her stance, and asked if it was a crime to help the producer financially so that he can complete the film.

Fight with Sudeep (September 2009)

No matter how many times we list it, this 2009 controversy between Sandalwood’s two top actors never becomes old. Sudeep, while shooting for his film Just Maath Maathalli with Ramya, said that he was upset with the actress’ rude behaviour on the set. The actor had told a website, “I gave Ramya an opportunity. As an actress, it is her duty to respect her work as well as her fellow actors and technicians. She should co-operate with them. When we are struggling hard to make the movie, she says f*** it. What does this mean?” While this war went on for a while before the two patched up, there was another rumour about his alleged relationship with Ramya.