Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ has crossed Rs 780 crore net in India and Rs 1000 crore worldwide. While the film has been loved by many, some people have also called it a ‘propaganda’ film and criticised it. In a recent interview, author Shobhaa De has reacted to it and revealed why she prefers ‘Dhurandhar’ over the other spy universe films. She also added that irrespective of a director’s political ideology, as an audience, people should react to a film based on whether they enjoy it or how they find it technically. For those not in the know, film critic Anupama Chopra did not like the film and had thrashed it in her review. Actor Paresh Rawal reshared her review and wrote, “Aren’t you tired of being Miss Irrelevant?” After that, Anupama Chopra’s review was pulled down. Reacting to it, De said during a chat with Vickey Lalwani, “Different environment, different era, different motivation, different ethics, different conscience levels and motivation for doing what she was doing. I don’t know if she pulled it down herself or someone asked her to but, regardless, the film speaks for itself. Every single filmmaker, especially someone who comes with sensitive content, comes with a certain political ideology. We should accept it the same way, we accept films out of Hollywood which have strong political content.” She further added, “I don’t care what political ideology Aditya Dhar has or who he represents or which political party is briefing him to make films that are termed hyper nationalistic, that’s not my concern. I’m watching the film as a viewer. Did I like it? Did I relate to it? Did I enjoy it? Did I find it technically superior? Was he dealing with sensitive issues that people of my generation have a point of view about? Yes. Does the younger generation know of our history? I don’t think so.” Further comparing it to other spy films, she said, “So, ‘Dhurandhar’ is a kind of an eye opener because unlike the other films which are the ‘spy universe’ films which have nothing to do with our reality. It just happens that they call a person an agent who is Shah Rukh Khan who then falls in love and has some sort of a relationship with a Pakistani counter intelligence agent. These things don’t work like that. These are films which have nothing to do with the ground reality of how intelligence works. So, I am far more comfortable with ‘Dhurandhar’ than I am with other films from the spy universe which are entertaining and the popcorn version of the spy universe. Very little to do with reflecting our history.”The journalist turned author, further spoke about Anupama Chopra’s review and said, “She has every right not to like the film and say so. But it’s not happening to Anupama but across the board. Will you put out your opinions or will you pull down your review. Where is the pressure to pull down your review coming from.” Adding further she said, “But if I were in Anupama’s place and if there was a pressure to pull down my review, I would have resigned. I wouldn’t have taken any such command from the bosses because the reason they hired me is for my opinion and if they don’t respect me, I don’t respect them.”
