‘Dhurandhar has no story’: Tigmanshu Dhulia rejects Ranveer Singh films' ₹3,000 cr success; internet says ‘sour grapes'

Tigmanshu Dhulia criticised Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar duology, claiming it lacks a story and attributed storytelling decline in Bollywood to capitalism.

Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar duology is among the most successful film franchises Bollywood has ever seen, but filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia has a contrasting opinion on the films and their success. During a recent event, the filmmaker declared that Dhurandhar had 'no story' and also linked capitalism to the death of storytelling in the Hindi film industry.

'Dhurandhar has no story'

Tigmanshu Dhulia criticised Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar.

Tigmanshu was speaking at an event organised by The Wire. He was speaking on the subject, ‘The State of Media and Film Industry.’

Criticising Dhurandhar, Tigmanshu said, “If someone asks you about the story of Dhurandhar, you can't tell it. There is a guy who goes to Pakistan aur vaha tabahi macha deta hai. Is this a story? The stories are finished in films. Also, those who tell the stories are also finished and those who want to tell stories aren't allowed to do so. They think that their films won't work. They follow the same pattern.”

'This type of political system finishes your individuality'

Linking capitalism to the lack of good storytelling in Bollywood, he said, "This happens during extreme capitalism, people also start looking like each other. You see the fashion these days, everybody looks the same. They all have the same haircut. Even cities are looking identical to each other. The unique character of every city is finished. My city Allahabad, (named has been changed to Prayagraj) was known for so many different things but now it looks like any other city, same malls, same cars. This type of political system finishes your individuality."

Internet reacts

Tigmanshu is known for delivering critically acclaimed films. He is particularly known for his collaborations with late actor Irrfan, including projects like Haasil and Paan Singh Tomar. He is currently gearing up for the release of his ZEE5 Original film Ghamasan. The film stars Arshad Warsi and Pratik Gandhi and is set to premiere on ZEE5 on September 11.

About Dhurandhar films

Both Dhurandhar films were written and directed by Aditya Dhar. The films featured an ensemble cast consisting of Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Gaurav Gera and Danish Pandor, alongside several supporting actors. The film follows the story of an undercover Indian intelligence agent played by Ranveer Singh, who infiltrates Karachi's criminal syndicates and political power structures in Pakistan in an effort to dismantle a terror network targeting India.

Together, both Dhurandhar films have minted over ₹3,000 crore at the box office.