The spy action thriller Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, broke several box office records and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films ever. During a recent interaction with his father, David Dhawan, actor Varun Dhawan said he believed Dhurandhar was more of a director’s victory than an actor’s. His remark, however, did not sit well with a section of the internet.
Varun Dhawan says Dhurandhar is director's win
Recently, the father-son duo, Varun and David Dhawan, sat down for a conversation. During the chat, Varun asked David why filmmakers today are unable to make films freely. To this, the veteran filmmaker replied, “I think anyone who has a pen and a phone feels they are a journalist. It has become very difficult. I can’t figure out which film became a hit and which one didn’t. It’s very difficult to gauge collections. But again, it’s run by the actors. Pehle bhi tha, abhi bhi hai (It existed earlier too, and it still exists now).”
Reacting to this, Varun said, “Why do you feel that? Today, when you see Dhurandhar, you see someone like Aditya Dhar and the way he made the film. Toh woh toh director ki jeet thi na? (So that was director's win right?)”
David then responded, “He is one of a kind. Yes, that was a director’s win, but otherwise, if you see, actors ka zyada haath hota hai. (Actors have a bigger role in it).” The filmmaker further joked that actors are not loyal to anyone and usually think about their own benefit first. Varun later admitted that actors are often insecure.
Ranveer Singh fans react
Social media users were quick to react to Varun’s comment, with many feeling he was undermining Ranveer Singh’s contribution to the film. One Reddit user wrote, “Any movie is a team effort. Just having a good director doesn’t make a film work either. You need a strong cast that can bring the story alive. That’s what Dhurandhar did.” Another commented, “It’s so evident that Varun is jealous of Ranveer. He cannot even pull off half of what Ranveer achieved with Dhurandhar.” Another user added, “Ranveer was the best thing in the entire film. He was consistently fantastic and brilliant.”
About Dhurandhar
Helmed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar is a two-part action thriller starring Ranveer Singh in the lead role alongside Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan and Rakesh Bedi, among others. The first part collected over ₹1300 crore worldwide, while the second part emerged as an even bigger success, earning more than ₹1800 crore globally and becoming the second-highest-grossing Indian film ever.
Varun Dhawan and David Dhawan’s upcoming film
Varun is currently awaiting the release of his upcoming film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. Directed by David Dhawan, the film also stars Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde in lead roles, along with Jimmy Shergill, Mouni Roy, Rakesh Bedi, Rajesh Kumar and others in key roles.