‘Much larger than Dhurandhar’: Ram Gopal Varma reveals Mohit Suri's gangster drama set around Dawood-Chhota Rajan split

The story revolves around the split between Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan and the events that followed.

Ram Gopal Varma and Mohit Suri are coming together for a film that brings together two very different sides of Hindi cinema. Ram, who has spent decades exploring Mumbai's underworld through films such as Satya and Company, will write and co-produce Mohit's next directorial venture. The film is expected to mix a gangster story with romance, emotion and music, giving the collaboration a rather unexpected edge. He announced the project on social media over the weekend.

Ram Gopal Varma teases a 'love dish' with gangster curry

Ram Gopal Varma and Mohit Suri's gangster drama to explore Dawood-Chhota Rajan split and is 'much larger than Dhurandhar'.

Ram shared a selfie with Suri on X on September 13 and teased their upcoming collaboration in his trademark style. He wrote: "Me and #Saiyaara's @mohit11481 for his NEXT film, are COOKING together a LOVE DISH full of GANGSTER CURRY .. Details to be SERVED VERY VERY SOON."

In a follow-up post on Monday, Ram revealed that the film will be set during one of the most turbulent periods in Mumbai's underworld history. The story revolves around the split between Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan and the events that followed.

Explaining the backdrop, Varma wrote on X: "The story is set in the times of the Dawood Ibrahim, Chota Rajan split, due to a man called Sautya and how the Indian intelligence agencies were involved in the later proceedings which further led to some key events of the aftermath of the 93 serial blasts."

The film will therefore move beyond a straightforward gangster story. It will also touch upon the involvement of Indian intelligence agencies and the chain of events that unfolded in the aftermath of the 1993 serial blasts, placing its fictional narrative against a significant chapter in Mumbai's criminal history.

Why Mohit Suri fits the story

According to Ram, Mohit brings something very different to the material. While the subject is rooted in the world of gangsters and intelligence operations, the director's strength lies in making audiences connect with his characters and their emotions.

He wrote: “For a story with this kind of a backdrop Mohit brought in a tremendous flair of his own brand of 'from the heart characters, superlative emotional music and never before thought of ultra realistic action.”

He has also set the expectations high, describing the film as "much larger in scale than DHURANDHAR, and much more rooted than SATYA in its heart."

He went on to draw a comparison with two major Hollywood filmmakers, asking audiences to imagine what Jaws might have been like if Francis Ford Coppola had directed it, or what The Godfather could have looked like in the hands of Steven Spielberg.

Mohit Suri's full-circle moment

The project is particularly meaningful for Mohit because Ram's films were part of his early inspiration to become a filmmaker. Having grown up watching his work, Suri now finds himself collaborating with the filmmaker whose cinema once influenced his own ambitions.

The announcement also comes after the massive success of Saiyaara, which starred Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. The romantic drama went on to become one of India's biggest love stories, earning around ₹329.73 crore net at the domestic box office and approximately ₹570.33 crore worldwide. He is also expected to reunite with Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for another intense romantic drama backed by Yash Raj Films, which is scheduled for release in 2027.

RGV has several projects lined up

The new collaboration is one of several projects currently associated with Ram Gopal Varma. He is working on Police Company, a crime drama featuring Harshvardhan Rane as a character inspired by Mumbai Police encounter specialist Daya Nayak. Produced by T-Series, the film is reportedly being planned as a two-part theatrical franchise.

He has also announced Police Station Mein Bhoot, a horror-comedy that brings him back together with Manoj Bajpayee after their collaborations on Satya, Kaun and Shool. Another project in his lineup is Syndicate, which Varma has described as a story built around the idea of India's entire law and order system collapsing in a single day.