Rakesh Bedi takes a dig at Kangana Ranaut's Emergency as he defends Dhurandhar 2 against ‘propaganda’ claims

Actor Rakesh Bedi defended his film Dhurandhar: The Revenge against propaganda claims, emphasising the film's strong writing and audience support.

Actor Rakesh Bedi is currently receiving widespread praise for his performance in Dhurandhar: The Revenge. While the film has largely opened to positive reviews, a section of viewers has labelled it “propaganda”. Addressing the criticism, Rakesh recently shared his thoughts in an interview with NDTV, where he defended the film and took an indirect dig at Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency.

Rakesh Bedi takes a dig at Kangana Ranaut's Emergency.

Rakesh Bedi takes a dig at Kangana Ranaut's Emergency

Rakesh said, “I don’t believe in politics. I believe in cinema. Everybody has the right to like or dislike a film, but I don’t think it’s right to put a film into some kind of category, whether it’s pro-establishment or anti-establishment. The verdict is that people are loving it.”

Talking about the buzz and strong audience response surrounding Dhurandhar: The Revenge, he added, “Recently, there were films made on Indira Gandhi and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. These films didn’t run for even two days. Dhurandhar’s writing and screenplay are strong. People haven’t seen a film mounted on such a scale before.”

Rakesh’s remarks come amid ongoing debates around the film’s themes and its reception on social media. Despite the criticism, the film has continued to perform well at the box office and has found strong support among audiences. For context, Kangana Ranaut recently portrayed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her self-directed film Emergency. The historical biographical drama, released in 2025, was based on the period of the Indian Emergency (1975–77). However, the film failed to make an impact at the box office, collecting only ₹18.40 crore worldwide.

About Dhurandhar: The Revenge

Helmed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is the much-awaited sequel to the 2025 blockbuster Dhurandhar. The sequel delves into the origin story of Ranveer Singh’s character, Hamza Mazari aka Jaskirat Singh Rangi. It also shows him continuing his mission to dismantle the terror network in Lyari while rising to the top of the criminal syndicate and facing enemies like Arjun Rampal. The film also stars Sara Arjun, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt and others in key roles.

The film has been receiving unanimous praise from critics, industry insiders and audiences. Stars like Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu and Jr NTR, among others, have praised Aditya Dhar’s conviction and direction and applauded Ranveer Singh’s performance. On its opening day alone, the film broke box office records and earned ₹146 crore at the domestic box office (including ₹43 crore from paid previews). The film continues to perform well.