Aditya Dhar, the director of Bollywood's latest blockbuster, Dhurandhar, has praised Ram Gopal Varma for teaching him to think dangerously. He was reacting to RGV's superlative appreciation for the Ranveer Singh-Akshay Khanna-Sanjay Dutt movie.
Here is what Dhar wrote on X:
"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. Your films didn’t teach me how to make movies — they taught me how to think dangerously. To have you say that Dhurandhar is a quantum leap feels surreal, emotional, and honestly a little unfair… because now whatever I do next has to live up to your appreciation. 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. If I have assumed the audience is intelligent, it’s because you taught an entire generation that cinema should never apologize for its ambition. Thank you for this generosity, this madness, and this validation. The fan in me is overwhelmed. The filmmaker in me feels challenged. And the boy who came to Mumbai to work under RGV… finally feels seen."
