Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has been raving about Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar films since the first film was released last December, and the sequel was released in March. However, he has one criticism of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which concerns the portrayal of a key character in the Ranveer Singh-starrer. On the Hussain Zaidi Files podcast, the Satya director said that it does not align with what he knows.
Ram Gopal Varma disagrees with this character’s portrayal in Dhurandhar 2
RGV was asked about Dhurandhar on the podcast, and he called it ‘one of the greatest films ever made’. He stated that his opinion was only as a director, as he had ‘zero understanding of the Pakistan underworld’. He even called it an ‘extraordinary film’ while stating there was one thing he disagreed with.
“The only element I disagree in that is, I feel, the portrayal of Dawood Ibrahim. Everybody will have their own sources. I think that has been shown incorrectly. But it’s not that I claim to be an authority in this. It’s not falling in line with what I know,” he said. When Zaidi mentioned that he heard Dawood once suffered from food poisoning but recovered, despite what was shown in the film, RGV seemed to agree.
Ram Gopal Varma says Dawood Ibrahim inactive by choice
In the film, Dawood is shown as the elusive Bade Sahab, who is the mastermind behind the terror attacks in India. He is shown as a sick and ageing individual who is bedridden but still controls the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and terror networks. The film also ends with Rakesh Bedi’s character, Jameel Jamali, being revealed as an Indian agent who secretly poisoned Dawood years ago and is responsible for his condition.
Commenting on this narrative, RGV stated that he has also heard rumours that Dawood is inactive because he’s unwell. However, he believes that the reality is otherwise. “He’s inactive because of his choice, not anything else. He stopped doing anything. Forget allegations, anyone’s name can be included in a chargesheet. After the 1993 blasts and Samad Khan’s murder in 1983, everything else is speculation. He retired 20 years back from crime is what I believe. ISI will have far better contacts than Dawood Ibrahim, a retired filmmaker, today.”
RGV also commented that during Osama Bin Laden’s death, he was described as a ‘present danger’ by authorities, while ‘nobody is interested’ in Dawood anymore, putting him in a different category. He also mentioned how other gangsters took over from him after that. The Dhurandhar films also star Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Gaurav Gera, Danish Pandor, and others. They have collectively grossed over ₹3000 crore worldwide.
