“Every tiger killed in the country for their body parts trade is like giving away parts of our mother India,” Amitabh Bachchan said on the TV show to raise funds for the endangered national animal. There are reported to be about 1700 tigers in the country as per the 2011 official report.

Amitabh made a persuasive plea on the program: “I urge you all to join this effort to save our national animal. Destroying them is like attacking and destroying our own heritage.” The 69-year-old superstar spearheads the ‘Save Our Tigers’ campaign that was launched on NDTV in 2010. The superstar also hoped that more celebrities from Bollywood come forward to support the cause.

“I hope that more celebrities come out and support the cause of the tigers. It is not just any other social cause, it is a national issue. It is not just about star-power,” Big B said. Meanwhile, as Mr. Bachchan was busy raising money for tiger, Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma tweeting away sarcastic remarks about the campaign.

“I wonder what the ‘save the tiger’ campaign screamers will scream if they themselves are thrown into a tiger cage? Do Indians want to save the tigers because they care for the tigers’ feelings or do they just want to protect it as a property to attract tourists?” Ramu wondered. Not just that, Ramu even talked of ‘save the donkey’ campaign.

“If tigers qualification is that they are becoming extinct then if donkeys start becoming extinct will they start ‘save the donkeys’ campaign also? Tigers killed lot of people but the poor donkeys never did anything but serve people and yet it’s sad that no one initiates ‘save the donkeys’ campaign,” Ram Gopal Varma tweeted. Wonder what Big B, who’s doing a terrific job for ‘Save The Tiger’ campaign, would say to Ramu’s observation.