Madhur Bhandarkar praises the influence of Dhurandhar: The Revenge Aditya Dhar director, also called out what he described as an “eerie silence” from the Hindi film industry.In an interview with Faridoon Shahryar, the filmmaker said that the film has disrupted the industry in an unprecedented way.the back Ram Gopal VarmaBhandarkar said, “Like an atomic bomb in the film industry”, “I totally agree with Ram Gopal Varma. I think me and Ramu ji were the first people to tweet about the film. I saw it on Wednesday night at a paid preview and tweeted about it the next morning. I also spoke to Aditya Dhar again and told him how wonderful the film Dhurhur is. 1.”
“South stars appreciated, Bollywood kept quiet”
The filmmaker noted that several South Indian stars openly praised the film, which he felt was missing in Bollywood.“Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Rajinikanth sir… I saw tweets from many southern actors who appreciated. But I am really surprised that Aditya Dhar didn’t get the applause and support he deserved from our Mumbai film industry,” he said.He added that regardless of personal taste, films deserve recognition. “Every film – whether you like it or not – deserves appreciation. Aditya Dhar has brought life back to the industry. We were going through a very bad phase for the last one and a half to two years. The films were not doing well at the box office, and yet this film has done extremely well.”
“There is no unity in the film industry”
Bhandarkar did not mince words while talking about the lack of unity in the industry.“I always say that there is no unity in the film industry. From the filmmakers, actors, producers here… the support that should have come did not come. But look at the South: the superstars saw the film in the first few days and clearly appreciated it,” he said.“Making a film well benefits everyone: technicians, spot boys, actors, music directors. We should appreciate it openly. What are we trying to prove by keeping quiet?”
‘This film has changed the dynamic’
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 bigger than that. This film has changed the whole dynamic: the script, the logic, the grammar of filmmaking. People are shocked. I’ve talked to a lot of directors and they said, ‘What a movie!'” he said.“I tweeted that this is going to be a case study in film schools, everywhere, around the world. The industry needs to wake up now and understand what kind of films they need to make.”
“You Can’t Get Aditya Dhar’s Brain”
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 Aditya Dhar’s brain. The script, the details… today people don’t watch a one-minute WhatsApp video completely, but they are sitting here till 2:45 am watching the entire movie,” he said.Sharing his personal experience, he added, “I have seen Dhurandhar 2 twice and Dhurandhar 1 thrice. I go to theaters and observe the audience. People were glued till the end credits. That emotional connection, especially with the climax Ranveer Singh‘s character— gives you goosebumps. People were crying.”
