Ahead of the release of Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2 on March 19, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma on Tuesday said that the upcoming sequel is an ‘asteroid’ that can “obliterate” pan-India South films by creating a new benchmark for mainstream cinema in the country.
“@AdityaDharFilms DHURANDHAR 2 has high chances of completely and permanently obliterating the pan india south films movement by establishing a brand new benchmark with ultra realistic making , genuine character depths etc that actually engage the audience’s brain while still delivering a raw visceral impact,” the 63-year-old filmmaker wrote on X.
Once audiences watch the upcoming movie, every other film currently under production in the “masala style” could become “endangered”, Varma said.
“Those ultra big budgeted masala projects that are already deep into shooting or post production will have an uphill task in competing with the new standards set. Producers who bet entire empires on the same previous formulaic making might face empty theatres and career ending losses because of the high costs involved and the audience taste converting to the international standards,” he continued.
“Directors married to the belief of “mass + vfx + scale + gravity defying stunts = guaranteed hit will have no choice but to reinvent themselves by studying the Dhurandhar audiences. Superstars who were depending upon their godlike statuses resting solely on mindless hero worship will stand exposed in front of highly effective characters who grow to be heroes in the context of the story rather than already being hailed as heroes from frame one,” Varma went on to criticise entertainers with a formulaic approach.
“DHURANDHAR 2 is not just another film coming on March 19 th . It can be an ASTEROID STRIKE that might end the DINOSAUR ERA of film making which is full of sheer volume, fake heroism and the so called masala treatment. The goal post has been changed and so if the direction of the kick does not change, it might not only break the leg , but it might lose the limb,” Varma signed off.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge is a sequel to the blockbuster spy thriller headlined by Ranveer Singh. The film, which hit theatres in December 2025, went on to cross the Rs 1,300-crore mark at the worldwide box office.
The film boasts an ensemble cast including Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and R. Madhavan. Set in Pakistan's Lyari town, the spy thriller revolves around an Indian spy, Hamza Ali Mazari (Ranveer), who infiltrates a local gang of criminals and arms dealers.
