Ram Gopal Varma criticises those supporting iBomma founder Immadhi Ravi after his arrest, calling Robin Hood comparisons misguided. He says piracy thrives because viewers enable it and argues that both suppliers and consumers should be held accountable
Ram Gopal Varma
Piracy kingpin Immadhi Ravi, founder of the site iBomma, was recently arrested by the Hyderabad Police. Ravi is accused of distributing illegal copies of thousands of Telugu films. Since his arrest, a section of the audience has shown support for Ravi’s illegal online movie streaming, even comparing him to Robin Hood. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has now hit back at such people.
Ram Gopal Varma slams iBomma supporters
In a post titled "Robinhood Ravi," he wrote, "Piracy will never stop. Not because technology is too advanced or policing too weak, but because as long as there are a large number of people to watch a pirated film there will always be Ravis to serve them. Now the funniest thing is Ravi supporters proudly comparing him to Robin Hood as if they discovered some Nobel Prize winning logic."
ROBIN HOOD RAVI
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) November 22, 2025
Piracy will never stop. Not because technology is too advanced or policing too weak , but because as long as there are a large number of people to watch a pirated film there will always be Ravis to serve them.
Now the funniest thing is Ravi supporters proudly…
Reacting to the supporters' claim, he added, "First of all, Robin Hood is not a hero. Going by today’s definitions he’s the world’s first recorded terrorist. He loots and kills the have’s to give to the have not’s and the only crime of the rich is that they are rich. Imagine how depraved one is , to think being financially successful is a crime punishable by theft and murder. It takes tonnes of ignorance to romanticise a criminal as a saint simply because the recipients are getting stolen goods for free."
He also mentioned that people watch pirated content not due to some ‘moral revolution’ but simply because of convenience or financial constraints. “Even people from the film industry including me watch pirated content for the same reason. If anyone is serious about stopping piracy, there’s only one real solution: Apart from criminalising the supplier they should also criminalise the viewer,” he claimed in the long note.
About the piracy racket
The crackdown began on June 5, 2025, when the Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce filed a complaint after Nani’s HIT: The Third Case and Sree Vishnu’s Single appeared online on their theatrical release day. A second complaint was submitted after Kuberaa faced a similar leak, prompting the police to initiate a detailed probe. In Telangana, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Unit arrested the alleged mastermind behind the iBomma and Bappam piracy racket few days back after several complaints were lodged.
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