Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma recently took to social media to post an extensive note praising Aditya Dhar’s 2025 spy thriller Dhurandhar, offering a rare and detailed reflection on the film’s storytelling, scale, and innovation. The post has quickly gone viral, sparking admiration across the industry for Varma’s humility and willingness to credit a younger director. Here is the full note as shared by Ram Gopal Varma: "From COPPOLA to ADITYA DHAR - A directors growth not only from what he learnt from previous directors who came before him, but also from directors who came after him ..In that context here are my new learnings from Aditya Dhar’s DURANDHAR
From Coppola I learnt intense closeted drama, which I tried to emulate in Satya, Company, Sarkar etc. But now Dhurandhar shows that approach can work far more effectively with scale. Writing scenes assuming the audience will feel even before they understand is a new one. I was one of the first mainstream Indian directors to refuse elevation of heroes. Bhiku Mhatre was terrific inspite of not being celebrated and Amitabh Bachchan worked in Sarkar without a single slow motion shot. But Dhurandhar invents a never before seen or experienced new kind of elevation in creating flawed but consequence driven heroes.
Making a star disappear into the story is a new one. Another lesson is that violence should hurt the viewer, not just entertain them and so to design action as an organic and emotional projection rather than loud illogical choreography is a new one, a must learn lesson, especially for the pan India filmmakers. I never believed in the so called three act structure but Dhurandhar extends that belief to almost a breaking point that even uneven and fractured narratives can command attention.
The ingredients of Dhurandhar can push stories to be abrupt, unresolved, sometimes even unfair. Also It breaks away from the cliche of tying knots just for the sake of untying them. My use of sound created dread without visual excess, but Dhurandhar showed that sound and music in a strange mating ritual can become the lead psychological forces even more powerful than dialogue and visual. I once assumed it was intelligence, but later on my intention to deliberately keep on provoking replaced the honesty in me and In sharp contrast to that, Dhurandhar respects the audience without explaining anything. I was always anti-trend and confronted it, but mostly for the sake of shock value, whereas Dhurandhar doesn’t chase validation because it announces a higher purpose. I always believed that scale should be shown internally and not as a bloated display, but Dhurandhar proves that scale can coexist with restraint in order to create a symphony of previously unfelt emotions. My final learning is that I don’t need to grow by myself, but I need to catch up with what others have become. Hey @AdityaDharFilms, thank you for becoming the new Ayn Rand of my life. “Art is not what it is… Art is what it could be” — AYN RAND" – read the full note.
Varma’s reflection positions Dhurandhar as a transformative experience in Indian cinema. The film, starring Ranveer Singh, has grossed over 1000 crore, blending high-octane action, emotional depth, and fractured narrative structures that challenge conventional storytelling. Drawing inspiration from Coppola’s intimate drama, Varma appreciates Dhar’s ability to scale storytelling, craft flawed yet consequential heroes, and employ sound as a psychological driver—lessons that he considers revolutionary even for seasoned filmmakers.
The post has been widely praised for its humility and the rare cross-generational respect it embodies, particularly in an industry often marked by rivalry and competition. Varma’s note not only highlights the technical and narrative achievements of Dhurandhar, but also underscores the idea that established directors can continue to evolve by learning from emerging talent.