Bollywood actor R Madhavan recently addressed the criticism surrounding his films Dhurandhar (2025) and its sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026), being called propaganda films by a certain section. The actor clapped back at such claims and also questioned why it is wrong to be seen as Indian.
'What does it mean by ‘being overly Indian’?'
During an interaction with Galatta Plus, he spoke about how Dhurandhar was labelled “propaganda” and also spoke about his directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), which many claimed emphasised being Indian. Responding to the same, he said, “I don’t understand how being an Indian can be seen as a wrong thing. What does it mean by ‘being overly Indian’? I don’t know. Is it not okay to show myself as being ‘too Indian’? I don’t know. That’s not my conditioning; I showed that. This is not even a political statement. Dhurandhar was based in Pakistan. Good and bad things happen there as well, just as much as they do in India. So, I don’t understand what the ‘propaganda’ in it is."
'Not a crime to enhance all good things about India'
He added, “In Nambi sir’s (aerospace scientist Nambi Narayanan) case, I only showed what happened in his life. How can I be honest with the story if I am afraid to show who he really is? He is a person who goes to the temple. GD Naidu (inventor and engineer), on the other hand, is a nastik (atheist). So, we can’t show such things (him going to temples) in the movie. I have to be true to that character. Because of that, one can’t say that I don’t believe in god or vice versa. I am an actor, and my job is to portray things as they are. My personal opinion is that I want to enhance all the good things about India. That cannot be a crime.”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “In Nambi sir’s (aerospace scientist Nambi Narayanan) case, I only showed what happened in his life. How can I be honest with the story if I am afraid to show who he really is? He is a person who goes to the temple. GD Naidu (inventor and engineer), on the other hand, is a nastik (atheist). So, we can’t show such things (him going to temples) in the movie. I have to be true to that character. Because of that, one can’t say that I don’t believe in god or vice versa. I am an actor, and my job is to portray things as they are. My personal opinion is that I want to enhance all the good things about India. That cannot be a crime.”
{{/usCountry}}'Never invited by any political party to join them'
Madhavan admitted that from a young age, he was taught that the country is the most important thing and that what we do for it is also very important. He shared that he hasn't spoken ill of any political party, politician or political leader in any of his interviews and has even praised their achievements irrespective of the political party they belong to.
He admitted that when he has doubts about something, he doesn't talk about it, and he believes that it is his duty to support an elected politician when they become a Prime Minister or a Chief Minister. The actor also clarified that, to date, no party — be it in Tamil Nadu or at the national level — has approached him asking him to promote them or inviting him to join them.
On the work front, Madhavan's G.D.N. is currently running in theatres. He has Adhirshtasaali and Circle in the pipeline.
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