Ram Gopal Varma on why Dhurandhar is working at Box Office, "it’s the empathy for Ramgarh villagers which made SHOLAY work"

Ram Gopal Varma on why Dhurandhar is working at Box Office, "it’s the empathy for Ramgarh villagers which made SHOLAY work"

Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar has emerged as one of the biggest box office phenomena of the year, but for filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, the film’s success has little to do with surface-level patriotism. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), the Satya director offered a sharp, filmmaker-to-filmmaker breakdown of why Ranveer Singh’s spy thriller is connecting so strongly with audiences.

Since its release on December 5, 2025, Dhurandhar has been on a relentless run at the ticket window. The film, which also stars Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan and Arjun Rampal, has reportedly crossed Rs 571.75 crore worldwide as of Monday, according to Sacnilk.

Amid the box office noise, RGV’s commentary stood out for cutting straight through the obvious explanations.

Thinking it’s the patriotic aspect which is making #dhurandhar work is like thinking , it’s the empathy for Ramgarh villagers which made SHOLAY work .. The one and only reason why it’s working is because @AdityaDharFilms made a never before experienced fantastic , exciting and…

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) December 23, 2025

Decoding the film’s success, Ram Gopal Varma dismissed the idea that nationalism alone is driving audience response. “Thinking it’s the patriotic aspect which is making #dhurandhar work is like thinking, it’s the empathy for Ramgarh villagers which made SHOLAY work,” he wrote, drawing a pointed parallel with Ramesh Sippy’s classic. The comparison was deliberate. Just as Sholay’s emotional core was powered by storytelling craft rather than sentiment alone, Varma argued that Dhurandhar succeeds because of its cinematic execution.

According to RGV, the real force behind the film is its director. “The one and only reason why it’s working is because @AdityaDharFilms made a never before experienced fantastic, exciting and intriguing thriller entertainer,” he added. The praise was not generic. Varma framed Dhar’s achievement as a matter of vision and control, crediting him for delivering an experience that feels new in a genre often crowded with familiar tropes.

In every shot of @AdityaDharFilms ‘s #Dhurandhar , #AkshayeKhanna looks like he’s stepping out of life , unlike most actors who look like they stepped out of a make up van — Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) December 23, 2025

RGV also singled out Akshaye Khanna’s performance, which has been widely praised since the film’s release. “In every shot of @AdityaDharFilms’s #Dhurandhar, #AkshayeKhanna looks like he’s stepping out of life, unlike most actors who look like they stepped out of a make up van,” Varma wrote. The line quickly went viral, with many viewers echoing the sentiment that Akshaye Khanna’s understated intensity grounds the film’s larger-than-life narrative.

The exchange between RGV and Aditya Dhar has added an unexpected emotional layer to the film’s success story. Earlier, Aditya Dhar had publicly acknowledged Ram Gopal Varma as a major influence on his filmmaking journey. In a heartfelt message, the Uri: The Surgical Strike director said, “I came to Mumbai years ago carrying one suitcase, one dream, and an unreasonable belief that I would one day work under Ram Gopal Verma. That never happened. But somewhere along the way, without knowing it, I worked inside your cinema.”

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Dhar went on to explain how Varma’s films shaped his creative instincts. “Your films didn’t teach me how to make movies, they taught me how to think dangerously. You were one of my favourite directors who made Indian cinema feel fearless, impolite, and alive. If Dhurandhar has even a fraction of that DNA, it’s because your films whispered, sometimes screamed, in my head while I was writing and directing it,” he shared.

Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar draws inspiration from real-life geopolitical tensions and covert R&AW missions, with a special focus on Operation Lyari, a Pakistan-initiated crackdown on criminal networks in Karachi’s Lyari area. While its political backdrop has sparked debate, Ram Gopal Varma’s take reframes the conversation. What this really means is that Dhurandhar’s success, at least in his eyes, is less about ideology and more about the rare thrill of watching a filmmaker fully in command of his craft.