‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, helmed by Aditya Dhar, has been witnessing a stellar run at the box office ever since its release on March 19. Not only has it lived up to the hype created by its predecessor, but it has also pushed the franchise to greater heights and earned immense praise from the industry. Many celebs have reacted to the film and the internet just cannot stop talking about it – be it in the form of fan theories or memes or peak detailing. Despite its success, a section of viewers has criticised the film, calling it ‘propaganda’. Responding to these claims, celebrity trainer-turned-actor Mustafa Ahmed who played Rizwan in the film alongside Ranveer Singh dismissed the allegations in a recent interview.
Mustafa said in an interview with Bollywood Cut Uncut, “Ek insaan ka propaganda, dusre insaan ka agenda hota hai. Mera naam Mustafa Ahmed hai. Aditya ji ko mere saath kaam karne ki kya zarurat hai? Woh agar kisi propaganda ki taraf ja rahe hain, toh kisi Mukesh ya Mahesh ko bhi le sakte the. Itna koi kisi ke liye kyun karega? Agar kisi ka agenda hai, main sabki respect karta hoon.” He underlined that he was not attempting to play safe and had approached his role with complete sincerity, much like the rest of the team, who gave their performances wholeheartedly.He further added, “Maine apna jo kirdaar nibhaya hai, usmein maine kahin compromise nahi kiya hai. Main kahin pe bhi jaakar, jaise log bolte hain ki apne fame ke liye zameer bech diya ya kuch, maine aisa kuch nahi kiya. Main bas apni baat kar sakta hoon, apne tareeke se bol sakta hoon, aur apne liye bol sakta hoon. Is kirdaar ne aisa kuch nahi kiya, na hi maine apne aas-paas aisa kuch dekha jiske liye mujhe laga ho ki yeh sahi nahi hai.“Meanwhile, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who has been openly backing the film since its release, also reacted to the ongoing ‘propaganda’ debate. Taking to social media, he suggested that critics from Pakistan create their own version of the narrative. His tweet read, “I have a WONDERFUL IDEA for all those in PAKISTAN who claim #Dhurandhar2 is a PROPAGANDA film full of lies , they can get their own Pakistani @AdityaDharFilms, and make #DhurandharTheTruth.“Anupam Kher had also reacted to ‘Dhurandhar’ being called a propaganda film. He said, “People calling it propaganda film, I feel pitty for them. They should be ashamed of themselves. Agar aapse bardaasht nahi hota toh aap bhi aisi film banaa lo. It’s a film which talks about Modern India, apart from how brilliant our agencies are. How meticulously they are doing their job. We are the most fortunate people living in this country.Aditya Dhar kaunsi mitti ke bane ho? Aapko jab main personal life mein milta hu lagta nahi hai but kahin na kahin Kashmiri pandit ka takleef gussa, because... We don’t pick weapons but we give answers with our work, I’m including myself. We give answers with our work. How brilliantly he has demolished the opposite country, tark deke ( with logic and justification). Writing is superb, dialogues are superb, camera work is outstanding. Action is outstanding, last 30 minutes of action is breath-taking.”
