Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi deletes 'Golmaal' meme about Russia-Ukraine conflict following backlash

In an onslaught of reactions on social media to the Russia-Ukraine war, several users have resorted to poking fun at the situation, leading to widespread backlash. The latest public figure to hop on the bandwagon of inappropriate reactions to the escalating crisis is Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi. After uploading a meme about the war, the actor deleted the tweet after facing criticism for his insensitivity towards the violence in Ukraine.

The meme, using a template from Warsi’s film Golmaal, sees three characters, played by Sharman Joshi, Warsi and Ajay Devgn, from the film standing together staring ahead, dumbstruck. The characters are labelled America, Ukraine and Germany respectively. He wrote alongside the meme, “Self-explanatory. Golmaal was way ahead of its time,” along with laughing emojis.

Offended by the tweet, several Twitter users took to the site to call out the actor. One user wrote, “As much as I respect you as an artist, trying to make fun of a war situation is a little insensitive to my taste, sir.” Another expressed their disappointment, writing, “Bro, keep your war memes in your drafts. Nobody’s laughing.”

Russian armed forces on Friday pressed on with their attack on Ukraine, driving ever closer to Kyiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to stay in the capital as his troops battled advancing forces.

Russia launched its attack by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed.