Dhurandhar 2: Madhur Bhandarkar says there's no unity in film industry; 'South stars appreciated it, Bollywood stayed silent'
ETimes | April 1, 2026 5:39 AM CST
Madhur Bhandarkar has weighed in on the impact of Dhurandhar: The Revenge , praising the Aditya Dhar directorial while also calling out what he described as a “shocking silence” from the Hindi film industry.
In a conversation with Faridoon Shahryar, the filmmaker said the film has disrupted the industry in an unprecedented way.
Backing Ram Gopal Varma ’s ‘like an atomic bomb under the film industry’ remarks, Bhandarkar said, “I completely agree with Ram Gopal Varma. I think me and Ramu ji were the first people to tweet about the film. I watched it on Wednesday night at a paid preview and I tweeted about it the next morning. I also spoke to Aditya Dhar again and told him how brilliant the film is. I liked Dhurandhar 2 even more than Dhurandhar 1.”
‘South stars appreciated it, Bollywood stayed silent’The filmmaker pointed out that several South Indian stars had openly praised the film, something he felt was missing in Bollywood.
“I saw tweets from Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Rajinikanth sir... so many South actors appreciated it. But I’m really shocked that from our Mumbai film industry, the kind of applause and support that Aditya Dhar deserved hasn’t come,” he said.
He added that irrespective of personal taste, films deserve acknowledgment. “Every film—whether you like it or not—deserves appreciation. Aditya Dhar has brought life back into the industry. We were going through a very bad phase for the last one-and-a-half to two years. Films were not doing well at the box office, and despite that, this film has done phenomenally well.”
‘There is no unity in the film industry’Bhandarkar did not mince words while speaking about the lack of unity within the industry.
“I always say there is no unity in the film industry. The support that should have come from filmmakers, actors, producers here... didn’t come. But look at the South—superstars watched the film in the first few days and openly appreciated it,” he said.
“One film doing well benefits everyone—technicians, spot boys, actors, music directors. We should appreciate openly. What are we trying to prove by staying silent?”
‘This film has changed the dynamics’Referring to the film’s scale and impact, the filmmaker echoed Ram Gopal Varma’s “dinosaur” analogy, but went a step further.
“I think it’s even bigger than that. This film has changed the entire dynamics—screenplay, logic, grammar of filmmaking. People are shocked. I’ve spoken to many directors and they said, ‘What a film!’” he said.
“I even tweeted that this will be a case study across the globe—in film schools, everywhere. The industry needs to wake up now and understand what kind of films to make.”
‘You can’t get the brain of Aditya Dhar’Bhandarkar also credited Aditya Dhar’s vision, calling it a “director’s film.”
“It’s a director’s film. You can have all the money, but you can’t get the brain of Aditya Dhar. The screenplay, the detailing—people today don’t even watch a one-minute WhatsApp video fully, but here they are sitting till 2:45 am watching the entire film,” he said.
Sharing his personal experience, he added, “I’ve watched Dhurandhar 2 twice and Dhurandhar 1 three times. I go to theatres and observe the audience. People were glued till the end credits. That emotional connection, especially in the climax with Ranveer Singh ’s character—it gives you goosebumps. People were in tears.”
In a conversation with Faridoon Shahryar, the filmmaker said the film has disrupted the industry in an unprecedented way.
Backing Ram Gopal Varma ’s ‘like an atomic bomb under the film industry’ remarks, Bhandarkar said, “I completely agree with Ram Gopal Varma. I think me and Ramu ji were the first people to tweet about the film. I watched it on Wednesday night at a paid preview and I tweeted about it the next morning. I also spoke to Aditya Dhar again and told him how brilliant the film is. I liked Dhurandhar 2 even more than Dhurandhar 1.”
‘South stars appreciated it, Bollywood stayed silent’The filmmaker pointed out that several South Indian stars had openly praised the film, something he felt was missing in Bollywood.
“I saw tweets from Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Rajinikanth sir... so many South actors appreciated it. But I’m really shocked that from our Mumbai film industry, the kind of applause and support that Aditya Dhar deserved hasn’t come,” he said.
He added that irrespective of personal taste, films deserve acknowledgment. “Every film—whether you like it or not—deserves appreciation. Aditya Dhar has brought life back into the industry. We were going through a very bad phase for the last one-and-a-half to two years. Films were not doing well at the box office, and despite that, this film has done phenomenally well.”
‘There is no unity in the film industry’Bhandarkar did not mince words while speaking about the lack of unity within the industry.
“I always say there is no unity in the film industry. The support that should have come from filmmakers, actors, producers here... didn’t come. But look at the South—superstars watched the film in the first few days and openly appreciated it,” he said.
“One film doing well benefits everyone—technicians, spot boys, actors, music directors. We should appreciate openly. What are we trying to prove by staying silent?”
‘This film has changed the dynamics’Referring to the film’s scale and impact, the filmmaker echoed Ram Gopal Varma’s “dinosaur” analogy, but went a step further.
“I think it’s even bigger than that. This film has changed the entire dynamics—screenplay, logic, grammar of filmmaking. People are shocked. I’ve spoken to many directors and they said, ‘What a film!’” he said.
“I even tweeted that this will be a case study across the globe—in film schools, everywhere. The industry needs to wake up now and understand what kind of films to make.”
‘You can’t get the brain of Aditya Dhar’Bhandarkar also credited Aditya Dhar’s vision, calling it a “director’s film.”
“It’s a director’s film. You can have all the money, but you can’t get the brain of Aditya Dhar. The screenplay, the detailing—people today don’t even watch a one-minute WhatsApp video fully, but here they are sitting till 2:45 am watching the entire film,” he said.
Sharing his personal experience, he added, “I’ve watched Dhurandhar 2 twice and Dhurandhar 1 three times. I go to theatres and observe the audience. People were glued till the end credits. That emotional connection, especially in the climax with Ranveer Singh ’s character—it gives you goosebumps. People were in tears.”
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