Curious case of Bollywood's 'silence' on Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar: Why south stars are louder in cheering for Hindi film

Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar The Revenge has earned praise from SS Rajamouli and Rajinikanth, but not the Khans yet.

On Tuesday, Dhurandhar The Revenge crossed ₹1400 crore at the global box office. It is the first Hindi film to cross the mark without the benefit of a windfall from China. In just 13 days, it is the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film of all time and is almost certain to finish in the top 2, maybe even at the very top. In the two weeks it has spent at the ticket window, the film has galvanised the nation, sparking memes, discussions, and dissections. In an interview with HT, veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan compared its impact to that of Sholay, arguably the greatest Indian film ever.

Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar 2 is now the second-highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.

And yet, for a film that has broken every Bollywood box-office record, the praise from within the industry is muted. Many fans have complained that Bollywood is ‘silent’ on the film. While that may be an exaggeration, it is not far from the truth. The biggest cheer for Dhurandhar 2 has come from the south, be it from filmmakers like SS Rajamouli and Nag Ashwin or superstars like Nagarjuna and Rajinikanth. The four industries from South India have embraced the film and propped it up on their shoulders, even as a vast majority of Hindi cinema continues to maintain a cautious distance.

South laps up Dhurandhar 2

Rajinikanth called the film's director Aditya Dhar ‘box office ka baap’, while SS Rajamouli could not stop praising lead actor Ranveer Singh. “The sequence with the sister in the shed is a masterclass in acting,” he tweeted in his review of the film. Nag Ashwin, Ram Charan, Nagarjuna, Kajal Aggarwal, Allu Arjun, and Mahesh Babu have all publicly praised the film, its cast, and director. This is a watershed moment for Hindi cinema, which had been relegated to praising the south and not earning praise for years.

This is exemplified by Dhurandhar 2’s box-office performance in the south. In the five southern states - Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana - Dhurandhar 2 has earned over ₹200 crore net, according to trade experts. It is set to surpass Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan as the highest-grossing Hindi film in the region. Jawan did that with a hit Tamil director and two leading actors from the south. Dhurandhar is managing it with an all-Bollywood team.

Bollywood hesitant in its praise

In contrast, the Hindi film industry, to which Dhurandhar belongs, has not been as effusive in its praise of the film. Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, and Akshay Kumar are among the only A-listers to have praised the film. Aamir Khan admitted he has not watched the film, while Salman Khan has not said anything. Shah Rukh Khan, who praised Anil Kapoor’s Subedaar publicly right before Dhurandhar 2’s release, has not spoken about Dhurandhar 2 yet. Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra, two prominent actors on the periphery of Bollywood now, have praised the film. But the mainstream A-listers are largely silent.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar slammed this silence. In a conversation with journalist Faridoon Shariyar, he said, “I always say there is no unity in the film industry. The support that should have come from filmmakers, actors, producers here... didn’t come. But look at the South—superstars watched the film in the first few days and openly appreciated it. One film doing well benefits everyone—technicians, spot boys, actors, music directors. We should appreciate openly. What are we trying to prove by staying silent?”

Why so silent?

Ram Gopal Varma has attributed this silence to ‘fear’ or ‘jealousy’ in his various tweets, saying Bollywood is taken aback by the film’s unprecedented success. The truth may be far less sinister and far more ideological. For all its praise, Dhurandhar 2 has received criticism for propping up the BJP government and PM Narendra Modi, with many labelling it propaganda. A large section of the Hindi film industry usually avoids commenting on films that enter the propaganda debate, preferring to stay ideologically neutral or just steer clear of controversies.

Others have argued that congratulatory messages may have arrived via texts and DMs. After all, not everything needs to be on social media. While that may hold true for Ranveer and Aditya’s families, including Deepika Padukone, it is odd for other colleagues. For an industry that has built a habit of celebrating successes publicly on social media, this silence is a curious deviation from the norm.