Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap hailed Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar as a ‘brilliant film’ but flagged two sequences he did not like in a review of the spy thriller he shared Sunday.
In a long note shared on Letterboxd website, Kashyap praised Dhar’s storytelling and Ranveer Singh’s performance in the espionage thriller.
“I have known Aditya Dhar since his National Award-winning film Boond. It’s his politics. Genuine politics. Agree or disagree with it. Man is honest. Not an opportunist like others,” said Kashyap, known for films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Black Friday.
“All his films are about Kashmir. He is a Kashmiri pandit who has suffered. Either you argue with him or let him be. Filmmaking is top notch,” Kashyap wrote, adding, “And Ranveer Singh being my favourite performance. So secure...Significant film,” Kashyap added.
“A spy cannot be a spy if he doesn't have hate and angst against the enemy state. A soldier also cannot be a soldier if he doesn't have angst against the enemy state. On those two counts I have no issues,” Kashyap noted.
However, Kashyap said that he had a ‘problem’ with two sequences in the film.
“I have two sequences that I have a problem with. Madhavan saying, ‘Ek din aisa ayega jab jo desh ke bare me koi sochaga...’, and another in the end when Ranveer says, ‘Ye naya India hai.’ Take those two aside, it’s a good film. In fact, a brilliant film that is entirely set in Pakistan,” he wrote.
Letterboxd
Also starring Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and R. Madhavan, Dhurandhar is set in in Pakistan's Lyari town and it centres on an Indian spy, Hamza Ali Mazari (Ranveer Singh), who infiltrates a local gang of criminals and arms dealers.
Released on 5 December, Dhurandhar has so far raked in Rs 772.62 crore nett in India, according to industry data-tracking platform Sacnilk. The action drama has smashed many box office records. It is the highest grossing Indian film of 2025, the highest grossing film of Ranveer Singh’s career and the fifth highest grossing Indian film of all time.
Dhurandhar’s worldwide collection stands at Rs 1206.75 crore gross, as per Sacnilk. A sequel to the blockbuster is currently in the works and will hit theatres on 19 March.
Apart from Kashyap, Ram Gopal Varma, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Sandeep Reddy Vanga have also heaped praise on Dhurandhar.
Kashyap’s latest film Bandar (Monkey in a Cage), starring Bobby Deol, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025 on 6 September.