Javed Akhtar Defends Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, Questions 'What's Wrong With Propaganda Films?'

Aditya

Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise brought a new wave to the film industry. With each part crossing the Rs 1000 crore mark globally, it set a fresh benchmark for others to follow. Despite the roaring success, a section of the audience found the film to be ‘propaganda’. The makers of Dhurandhar, including the cast and core team, remained unaffected by such claims. Now, veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar stepped up in the film’s defence. At a recent event, he spoke to the reporters about Ranveer Singh’s espionage thriller after being asked to comment on whether it promoted propaganda or not.

Javed Akhtar defends Dhurandhar

At the event, Javed said he doesn’t know what ‘propaganda films’ mean. The Sholay screenwriter further shared that he loved watching Dhurandhar, which was ‘an excellent film’. In Javed’s opinion, first was better than the second. Akhtar added, "Every story takes a stand, but does it become propaganda because the narrative doesn't suit a section of the audience?” According to him, everyone has the right to propagate their ideas. “What is wrong with propaganda films?” he asked, before saying that every filmmaker has the right to present the truth.

Taking Dhurandhar’s side, the veteran lyricist explained that even if a film is based on a fairytale, it will still have an underlying ideology. Supporting Aditya’s vision and creative take on telling Dhurandhar’s story, Javed said each movie comes with its own morals, which may be interpreted differently.

Dhurandhar is a great film, says Javed Akhtar

In a previous interview with Zoom, Akhtar had only praises for Superboys Of Malegaon and Dhurandhar. He had told us that he found the spy thriller to be a ‘great film’. Javed revealed that after watching Dhurandhar, he called Aditya to congratulate him on the ‘well-made film’.

Yami Gautam on Dhurandhar's success

Following Dhurandhar 2’s mammoth success, Yami Gautam, who is married to Aditya, said in a recent interview that nothing has changed for them. Talking to Grazia, she praised the Dhurandhar director for being ‘unaffected and extremely humble’. “I've seen him through different phases, there are highs and lows and vulnerable phases – but it's not like during that phase we expressed our frustration or let it out,” Yami said before adding that they are grateful to God for their successes.

Dhurandhar 2 box office

According to trade sources, Dhurandhar 2 has earned over Rs 1,700 crore worldwide. It released on March 19. Besides Ranveer, the spy thriller also stars Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Gaurav Gera, Danish Pandor, Udaybir Sandhu and many others.