Amid propaganda debate, Karan Johar defends Dhurandhar

Aditya Dhar’s film Dhurandhar has sparked intense debate online, with many branding it as a ‘propaganda’ film.

Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring an ensemble cast of Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun, has broken all records at the box office, nationally and globally. However, the film has even sparked an intense debate over whether it is a ‘propaganda’ film. Filmmaker Karan Johar has reacted to the same.

Karan Johar defends the film Dhurandhar.

Amid the ongoing debate around a section of audiences calling Dhurandhar a propaganda film, filmmaker Karan Johar has come forward to defend it. He made it clear that the film’s politics didn’t offend him; in fact, he thoroughly admired it. During a recent interaction, Karan showered praise on Dhurandhar, calling his admiration for the film “unabashed and unapologetic.” He said, “I outstandingly loved Dhurandhar. I saw all of it with awe because I loved the craft of the filmmaker, the storytelling, the way it was divided into chapters. I loved that the gaze was more internal. It wasn’t against anything; it was for speaking about politics in its own way.”

More on what Karan Johar said defending Dhurandhar.

Karan Johar addressing the criticism surrounding the film’s ideological stance added that the disagreement is an essential part of cinema. He said, “I actually wasn’t offended by the politics of the film. I knew where it was heading. Some people could agree or disagree, and that should be cinema.” Karan added that he watched the film purely from a cinematic lens. He also praised director Aditya Dhar, saying the filmmaker has emerged as a “strong and unique voice” in Indian cinema. Earlier, actor HrithikRoshan also shared his thoughts on Dhurandhar on Instagram, applauding the film while noting that he “may disagree with the politics of it.” After receiving backlash on social media, he posted another Instagram Story praising the film.

Thus far, Dhurandhar has amassed an estimated ₹1,283.5 crore in worldwide collections.