Since its release on December 5, Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna, has been enjoying an overwhelming response. However, actor Naveen Kaushik, who essayed the role of Donga in the film, has shared that Ranveer deserved more recognition for his performance than Akshaye.
Naveen Kaushik on working with Ranveer Singh
Recently, Naveen joined Siddharth Kannan for a video on his YouTube channel. During the conversation, Naveen spoke about working with Ranveer and Akshaye. In fact, Naveen confessed that he feels Ranveer’s portrayal of a spy deserved more recognition.
“I do feel it’s unfair. Akshaye sir has undoubtedly created an iconic character that will be remembered for years. But what Ranveer has done as an actor: the tiny nuances, his voice modulation, for someone who is so energetic in real life to suppress all of that and play the complete opposite, it’s extremely difficult,” Naveen said.
He added, “In the famous FA9LA song, everyone in the scene is dancing – except Ranveer Singh. To restrain yourself in a moment like that is incredibly hard. But people didn’t notice it because of Akshaye sir’s commanding aura. Ranveer’s character is deliberately underplayed. He doesn’t seek attention. In the film, the first man in command is Akshaye, followed by Danish. If Ranveer had ego issues, he could have easily tried to draw focus to himself – but he didn’t. An insecure actor would have done that. Ranveer stayed true to his character and allowed someone else to shine.”
About Dhurandhar
Aditya Dhar’s spy action thriller is the first instalment of a two-part film series. It features Ranveer Singh as Hamza, an Indian spy who infiltrates Lyari’s criminal and political underworld in Pakistan as part of an anti-terror covert operation. The film also weaves in several real-life events involving geopolitical tensions, such as the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, into the storyline.
The film also stars Sara Arjun, Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi and Sanjay Dutt. Released on December 5, 2025, the film has become the first Bollywood film to cross the ₹800 crore milestone at the Indian box office. The film has crossed the ₹1200 crore mark worldwide. Its sequel is slated to release in March this year.
