Writer-columnist Shobhaa De questioned the hype surrounding Akshaye Khanna’s role in the film Dhurandhar. In a podcast, she said that his role and dance moves were exaggerated. Sharing her opinion about the film on the Rediff Originals podcast, Shobhaa Dea said, “I felt the atmosphere created was a bit manipulative. It was made to seem as if Akshaye Khanna was a bigger star than Ranveer and carried the entire film on his own. His dance was also presented in a special way. While the dance was truly spectacular and went viral, the way it was promoted felt like a deliberate strategy.” When the podcast mentioned Hrithik Roshan’s statement about Dhurandhar, in which he said he liked the film but disagreed with its politics, Shobhaa Dea responded, saying that no one asked Hrithik whether he agreed with the film’s politics. According to him, it was his own choice to comment on this aspect. Shobhaa De said in a lighter vein that he could have simply said he liked the film. It wasn’t necessary to comment on politics. What did Hrithik say about the film? After watching the film, Hrithik wrote on Instagram that he liked the film’s storytelling. He said that he doesn’t agree with the film’s politics, but as a student of cinema, he learned a lot from it.
Hrithik wrote, “I love cinema. I love people who completely immerse themselves in a story. Dhurandhar is an example of that. I loved its storytelling. I don’t agree with its politics, but it still can’t be ignored.” However, a few hours later, he posted again on Instagram. He praised director Aditya Dhar and actor Ranveer Singh. He wrote that the film is still on his mind.
The film Dhurandhar was released on December 5th. In it, Ranveer Singh played an Indian spy. Apart from Ranveer, the film also starred Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, and R. Madhavan. The film grossed over ₹1,300 crore worldwide.
