R Madhavan responds to Dhurandhar criticism: 'We’ve seen this before, the film will outlive the noise'

Actor R Madhavan addresses negative reviews of Dhurandhar, drawing parallels with his past films like Rang De Basanti and 3 Idiots.

As Dhurandhar continues to divide audiences and spark heated debate online regarding its violent content, actor R. Madhavan has finally addressed the wave of negative early reviews and he isn’t surprised. Drawing parallels with some of the biggest films of his career, Madhavan said he has lived through this pattern before and believes that the movie’s long-term impact will silence its early detractors.

R Madhavan in a still from Dhurandhar.

Madhavan talks about similar situtation with Rang De Basanti and 3 Idiots

Speaking in a recent interview with Puja Talwar, Madhavan revealed that he anticipated the initial backlash even before the film was released. “From the very beginning, I knew this was going to impact society. There will be people who will first give it very bad ratings,” he said, recalling how similar waves of premature criticism surrounded films like Rang De Basanti and Three Idiots. Both films went on to become landmark titles, despite receiving polarised reactions at release.

Madhavan pointed out that early negative reviewers often fade into irrelevance, while the work continues to resonate with audiences over time.

“The people who gave two ratings have become irrelevant. We are still in the industry. I’m not saying this out of spite; you’re just missing the point. It’s time to evolve,” he asserted, emphasising that actors, filmmakers, and critics alike must grow with changing storytelling styles.

The actor explained that he has personally witnessed how films are sometimes written off even before they reach audiences. He recalled how Rang De Basanti faced severe scepticism, with distributors backing out and the media prematurely predicting failure.

On Dhurandhar facing similar treatment, Madhavan remained unfazed and said,“When this happened with Dhurandhar, I thought, been there, done that.”

Madhavan criticises reviewers

He criticised reviewers and YouTube commentators who label films 'disasters' within hours of release, often without understanding the film’s context or narrative intention. For Madhavan, the true test of a film’s worth lies in its lasting impact, not its initial online performance.

“As actors, we dream of these situations, when everyone says it’s a stupid film, nothing will happen… and then it blows up. You haven’t seen the end yet,” With his confidence firmly grounded in past experience, Madhavan believes Dhurandhar will ultimately be judged by its impact, not by its early detractors.

About Dhurandhar box office collection

Dhurandhar has sparked mixed reactions since its release, with some critics and audience members praising its ambitious scale, performances and spy-drama intensity, while others have criticised aspects such as its lengthy runtime, pacing and narrative approach, with a few reviewers even questioning its storytelling choices.

Despite the debate, the Ranveer Singh-led film has enjoyed a strong box office run. It crossed the ₹200 crore mark domestically within its first week and collected over ₹300 crore worldwide in the opening days of release, making it one of the year’s most commercially successful Hindi films so far.