Anurag Kashyap says social media attacks against critics for Dhurandhar were 'coordinated, not organic'

Anurag Kashyap has addressed the backlash certain film critics received after Dhurandhar, calling the social media attacks ‘coordinated’.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has spoken out against the backlash film critics receive from actors' fan clubs when they write negative reviews. The filmmaker has called all such social media attacks ‘coordinated’ and said backlash by fan clubs is a ‘social media construct’.

Anurag Kashyap has addressed the backlash certain film critics received after Dhurandhar.

Aditya Dhar on backlash to critics over Dhurandhar

In a conversation with film critic Sucharita Tyagi on her YouTube channel, Anurag addressed the backlash critics face from fans over negative reviews, citing Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar. “This backlash thing is again a social media construct. There was a great article in The New Yorker about how fan clubs were created in the South to create heroes. A lot of it is not organic. I genuinely believe it is not organic. I will talk about a recent film, Dhurandhar. How everyone was attacked is uncalled for. Somebody reached out to me and said you shared the Critics Guild post. From the industry, nobody shared. Par aapko Dhurandhar mein acha bhi laga bahut kuch (you liked a lot in Dhurandhar). I said what I found problematic, and I said this too. Jo cheez galat hai wo galat hai (What is wrong is wrong). Mujhe kaisi lagi does not mean I am going to force my opinion on someone else. Tum kya dekh rahe ho film mein, woh tum dekh rahe ho. Jo main dekh raha hoon, woh main dekh raha hoon (You are watching what you are, and I am watching what I am),” he said.

About the Dhurandhar backlash

Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar, received mixed reviews, with many critics praising it, while others criticising it, calling it agenda-driven. Many critics were targeted by social media trolls for their negative reviews of the film, leading to the Film Critics Guild of India to release a statement defending them and condemning the attacks.

Anurag, who had himself praised the film but criticised its politics, called all such attacks coordinated. He explained, “Ye jo coordinated attacks hote hain, ye coordinated hi hote hain, ye organic nahi hote (All these attacks are coordinated and not organic). Organic can be 'I don't agree with you'. I can disagree with you, whatever it is. One of my cousins runs a place like this, where 300 people sit, and they get paid for this. His whole business is this.”

Dhurandhar starred Ranveer Singh in the lead, alongside Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt. The film was a major box office success, minting over ₹1300 crore worldwide. A sequel - Dhurandhar: The Revenge - will release next month.

Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy releases in India

Anurag Kashyap is currently awaiting the belated Indian release of his film, Kennedy. The film, starring Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone, is releasing on Zee5 on February 20.