R Madhavan questions ‘if there is an agenda’ behind Dhurandhar’s negative reviews, says it was called ‘disaster’ on release day

He said, “When I heard Dhurandhar and saw the immaculate research that had been done by Aditya Dhar, the fearlessness of the man, the uniqueness of his storytelling—these were the signs I got before the release of my film. I knew that this was going to impact society. There will be people who will first give it very bad ratings, and then there will be people who will suddenly go and wonder, ‘Wow, this happened’.”
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The actor also questioned the fairness with which certain critics have reviewed the film, claiming that many had written it off before it was even released. “You are free to express your opinion, but even before the film was released, obituaries had been written, and on its release, you posted a review calling it a disaster. One wonders if there is an agenda,” he said and added, “But as actors, we thrive on this situation. Please don’t forget, irrespective of whatever your opinions and agendas are, we are a very lonely family, and it is our job, no matter how much you like or hate a product or a person. Don’t take a jibe at the industry like an outsider. We have enough of them already,” said Madhavan.
As if to add to his point, Madhavan even took to social media in order to show his displeasure for some critics. He reposted a fan’s story where Akshaye Khanna’s character is warning the public about facing fatal consequences if they go against him. The fan who shared the scene wrote on top, “This goes for some critics as well.”
Previously, the Film Critics Guild issued an official statement, alleging that many critics across the country had faced intimidation and threats for giving negative reviews to Dhurandhar. In their statement, posted on social media, they wrote, “The FCG strongly condemns the targeted attacks, harrassment, and hate directed toward film critics for their reviews of Dhurandhar. What began as disagreement has rapidly devolved into coordinated abuse, personal attacks on individual critics, and organised attempts to discredit their professional integrity.”
The FCG also claimed that many attempts have been made to “alter or dilute” the views expressed by certain critics, and that people have tried to “influence editorial positions.” They also wrote, “We are also deeply concerned about the saftey and well being of our colleagues from across the country. No professional should be subjected to personal vilification simply for doing their job.”
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Directed by Aditya Dhar, the cast of Dhurandhar includes Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Akshaye Khanna and Sanjay Dutt.