Legendary filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) has sparked a fresh debate across the film fraternity, claiming that the monumental success of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar has left the industry in a state of silent shock.
In a series of detailed social media posts, Varma argued that the film’s achievement is being overlooked by many because it challenges the very foundation of current commercial cinema. According to RGV, the silence from various industry quarters stems from a deep-seated “insecurity” regarding the rising standards of storytelling and technical brilliance.
Using his signature unfiltered style, Varma compared the impact of Dhurandhar to a “monstrous dog” invisibly loitering in every production office where upcoming projects are being developed.
“Everyone of us has experienced an incident where we go to visit someone’s house and see a large, scary-looking dog staring at us,” Varma wrote. “They will try their level best to even avoid uttering the dog’s name, but it will keep loitering in all their minds.”
He suggested that for many, the film has become a “nightmare” that they hope will simply vanish when they return to the comfort of their own traditional projects.
Varma’s critique was specifically aimed at the reliance on “outdated templates” that have dominated high-budget cinema. He noted that Dhurandhar succeeds by rejecting the typical checklist of. Over-the-top VFX and expensive, hollow sets. Forced item songs and “ear-splitting” background music.
The “Hero Worship” template that prioritizes star presence over script. To that extent, Dhurandhar will actually be like a HORROR film for all those makers who do not have the ability to make a film with such brilliance, intelligence, integrity, and craft,” he stated. He further observed that while most films are built to elevate a star, in this instance, the film itself is being worshipped, leaving star-driven projects in a “self-created dungeon.
Earlier, RGV had labeled the film a “quantum leap,” praising director Aditya Dhar for “engineering states of mind” rather than just directing scenes. He noted that the film’s success is an “organic” phenomenon that has silenced skeptics who initially pointed to corporate bookings.
With the film already crossing the ₹600 crore mark in India and eyeing the ₹1000 crore milestone worldwide, Varma believes it serves as a final warning for the industry to “grow up.”
Aditya Dhar, the visionary behind the film, responded to Varma’s high praise with significant humility. Dhar admitted that his own cinematic journey was shaped by RGV’s early work, such as Satya and Shiva.
If Dhurandhar has even a fraction of that DNA, it’s because your films whispered—sometimes screamed—in my head while I was writing and directing it,” Dhar replied, adding that the validation made him feel “seen” after years of following RGV’s “fearless and impolite approach to filmmaking. To know such latest updates, stay tuned to tellyboosters.com Thank you!
