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Ram Gopal Varma says his next film Syndicate will match up to post-Dhurandhar 2 era: ‘I want to wipe out my entire past'

Ram Gopal Varma says every filmmaker should ‘shed their egos’ and do an intensive study of Dhurandhar 2 to adapt with their filmmaking.

Updated on: Mar 26, 2026, 12:03:52 IST
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Ram Gopal Varma has been effusive in his praise for Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar The Revenge. The filmmaker has hailed the script, the performances and the storytelling in multiple posts over the last few months, even saying that Aditya has ‘showed a new way of Indian cinema’. In his latest post, the director has admitted that his next film Syndicate will match up to the films that will come post-Dhurandhar 2 era. (Also read: 'Make your own film': Ram Gopal Varma has a stern rebuke for those calling Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar 2 'propaganda')

Ram Gopal Varma has shared that he wishes to be reborn as a director after watching Dhurandhar 2.
Ram Gopal Varma has shared that he wishes to be reborn as a director after watching Dhurandhar 2.

What Ram Gopal Varma said

Taking to his X account on Thursday, Ram Gopal Varma shared, “Syndicate is based on a premise: ‘What if the entire law and order of India collapses in just one single day.’ It will be almost like a horror film, not because of any supernatural elements, but because it will bare open the horrors that exist in some human minds, which they can enact terrifyingly. Syndicate is about the rise of an organisation so powerful, so integrated, and so maniacally driven that it threatens the very existence of India. I believe that Syndicate is something which will match up to the post-Dhurandhar 2 era, and that is the reason for my decision.”

He continued, “Here’s my take on why I want to wipe out my entire past and be a newborn or a reborn director post watching Dhurandhar 2… In effect, we all keep getting reshaped from time to time because of newer and newer experiences, which keep on elevating our benchmarks as they should. My benchmark films were The Sound of Music (Rangeela), The Exorcist (Raat, Bhoot), and The Godfather (Satya, Company, Sarkar). In my entire career, I was making films derived from those benchmarks and mainly from The Godfather.”

How Dhurandhar 2 changed the benchmark

He went on to add, “But now, after seeing Dhurandhar 2, all my earlier films look like nothing. If The Godfather was my earlier benchmark in this genre, I now felt Dhurandhar 2 is like Godfather’s Godfather in the way, it redefined and reinvented everything, whether it’s craft, storytelling style, character design, background music, laying out emotional landscapes, artistes' performances, action choreography, etc. So it’s common sense that I need to abandon the lessons learnt from the old schools of Coppola and join the new school of @AdityaDharFilms and that’s the only way one can stay updated.”

“It will be a suicidal blunder on the part of any filmmaker/writer/star, not to shed their egos and do an intensive academic research study of #Dhurandhar2 and then take a deep relook and then rework on whatever they believed so far, and drastically adapt. By not doing so, and if you all will still stick to the same old cinematic beliefs, which were brutally killed on March 19 th 2026, you too will die,” he concluded.

About Dhurandhar 2

The film is set in Lyari, Karachi, an area known for its history of gang wars and violent turf battles. The Aditya Dhar film revolves around covert intelligence operations against the backdrop of geopolitical and terror events. Dhurandhar 2 revolves around the psychological and physical transformation of Ranveer Singh's character Jaskirat Singh Rangi into the spy Hamza Ali Mazari. It also stars Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Rampal.

  • Santanu Das
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Santanu Das

    Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’. A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic. When not watching films or speaking to celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own. Santanu continues to write passionately about films and celebrity culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience. Find him on LinkedIn: santanudasfilm Instagram: @santupechaRead More

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