You could tell social media was on edge after Varun’s comments on Dhurandhar. He called the hit a director’s make-or-break, and that was enough to rattle the internet into a row over who deserves the credit. Fans were quick to say he was making light of what Ranveer did. It’s where pride in your cinema collides with hard numbers.
Why it rubbed some the wrong way
This isn’t just any old success story; it’s a behemoth. The first one made 1300 crore plus around the world. The second? Even more, at 1800 crore and up, putting it in the top two for an Indian film ever.
When you have a movie of that magnitude, people are very particular about who is getting the nod. So when Varun put it in those terms, it didn’t sit well with a lot of them. In their eyes, hailing it as a director’s job was a way of writing off Ranveer’s work.
In their own words: Varun and David Dhawan
It all started in an open conversation between father and son on how the game has been played differently these days. David was of the opinion that the actor is still the engine of a film and that you can’t read the room like you used to with today’s noise.
Varun had a different read, using Dhurandhar as his case. He gave the floor to Aditya Dhar’s point of view and made it sound like a win for the director. David would have it that this was an exception, and for the most part, the actor has the upper hand. He even made a quip about actors being in it for themselves.
Then there was Varun’s admission of the kind of unease an actor can have. It was a no-nonsense back-and-forth, and you knew it was going to be picked apart online.
The response from the other side
It didn’t take long for the timelines to fill up with dissent. Some were at Varun, saying he was short-changing Ranveer. They’ll have you believe the film had its spark because of both the man behind the camera and the one in front of it.
You could see the mood in a few ways:
– It’s a team sport, not a solo act
– Dhar’s direction was top shelf, but you can’t have it without the rest
– You had to have Ranveer to hold it together
– The results were a mix of acting and calling the shots
Some of the things we saw
One user or another will tell you a director is nothing if he doesn’t have the right talent to put over. Then you have the ones who put Ranveer on a pedestal for being, as they put it, consistently good. There were even a few who thought Varun was being envious, or at the very least, a bit hard on the truth.
Put it in the box office perspective
With Aditya Dhar at the helm and Ranveer in the title role, Dhurandhar has put some records in the rearview mirror. And with a franchise like this, a two-parter, you’re going to be looking at the continuity and the character work with a fine-tooth comb. Both the director and the lead are on display.
The figures don’t lie. 1300 for the opener, 1800 for the follow-up. That gives everyone something to stand on: one side for the vision, the other for the star.
What it says about the industry
The chat between the Dhawans put a finger on an old sore spot in the business: who is really in charge? David is an actor’s man. Varun’s take on Dhurandhar is the flip side of that coin.
And since you can make a case for either with this movie, the argument has legs. When a film is this big, the lines get a little fuzzy.
If you’re keeping an eye on where this is heading, here is what to figure on:
– More unfiltered opinions from the set
– Fans will be out in force with the stats to back up their guy
– The filmmakers will be touting the work that goes on behind the scenes
Where the Dhawans are now
For the time being, Varun is putting his focus on what’s coming up with Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. It’s a David Dhawan picture with Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde up front, and you’ll also see Jimmy Shergill, Mouni Roy, Rakesh Bedi, Rajesh Kumar and the like in it.
Let the debate run its course. Either way, the credit for Dhurandhar is going to be a shared one. For us watching, the back-and-forth is as good as the show.
