Dhurandhar 2 action director reveals Aditya Dhar pushed for extreme violence, says 'We shot the brutality in detail, but what you see is just 60%'

Aejaz Gulab opens up on cutting down violence in Dhurandhar 2

• Only 60% of filmed brutality made it into Dhurandhar 2.
• Action scenes were toned down for OTT and younger viewers.
• Ranveer Singh and Arjun Rampal sustained injuries during filming.

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The action in Dhurandhar 2 may feel intense on screen, but according to action director Aejaz Gulab, what audiences are seeing is only part of what was actually shot.

Talking about the making of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Aejaz Gulab shared that director Aditya Dhar pushed the team to go all out when it came to designing action sequences.

The idea was to make them as raw and powerful as possible. However, a large portion of the more graphic scenes didn’t make it into the final cut.

Explaining why, Aejaz Gulab said the team had to think about how the film would be viewed later, especially on OTT platforms.

He told Hindi Rush, “We had shot all the brutality in detail, but what you see in the film is just 60%. Since we’re in the OTT era and kids may eventually watch it, we had to tone it down,” he said.

At the same time, Aditya Dhar gave the team a lot of creative freedom. Aejaz Gulab recalled how the director encouraged them to push boundaries and think differently about action. “Aditya Dhar gave us full freedom.

He said, ‘Aejaz bhai (brother), think as brutally as you can. Kill in the most intense ways you can imagine.’ And we did exactly that, while he added his directorial touch,” Aditya said. He added that Aditya Dhar wanted the action to feel “manly” and grounded, rather than over-stylised.

Interestingly, not everything was planned in advance. Some of the film’s most striking moments came together on the spot.

Aejaz Gulab mentioned a scene inside a masjid where Hamza uses debris to kill an aide of Major Iqbal, saying many such ideas were improvised during the shoot to make the action feel more real and immediate.

The climax sequence, which runs for over 30 minutes, was particularly demanding. The team spent six days rehearsing and nearly two weeks filming just the masjid portion.

Also Read: Who is Udaybir Sandhu? The actor behind Pinda in Dhurandhar 2

Keeping everything consistent—from costumes to makeup—required careful coordination, with teams constantly referring to photos between takes.

Aejaz Gulab also spoke about the effort put in by Ranveer Singh and Arjun Rampal. During a chain-fight scene, they used rubber chains for safety, but even then, the sequences were physically taxing. Both actors got injured multiple times but chose to continue.