Javed Akhtar questions Dhurandhar 2 propaganda tag: 'Everyone has the right to propagate their ideas'

Javed Akhtar on Dhurandhar (Pic/Yogen Shah, special arrangement)

Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar: The Revenge has been on a dream run ever since its release on March 19, striking a chord with audiences. Amid its massive success, a section of viewers has labelled the film as ‘propaganda'. Recently, Javed Akhtar reacted to the tag and said everyone has the right to propagate his or her ideas in creative works.

Javed Akhtar on Dhurandhar propaganda claims

While attending an award function in Kolkata on Sunday, the veteran writer interacted with the media, where he was asked his opinion about ‘propaganda films like Dhurandhar'. To this, Javed Akhtar responded, "I don't know what you mean by propaganda films. I loved Dhurandhar, which is an excellent film. I loved the first one more than the second one."

The veteran screenwriter-turned-lyricist added that one cannot label a film as propaganda just because it does not suit a section of the audience. "Every story takes some stand, but does it become propaganda because the narrative isn't suited to a section of the audience? Everyone has the right to propagate their ideas. What is wrong with propaganda films? The task of every filmmaker is to present the truth. Even if the narrative of a movie is built on a fairy tale, it will have some ideology in a way," he added.

When asked if he would write a film like Deewar today, Akhtar said, "Films are like mirrors. With the passage of time, morality changes, and aspirations change. As society changes, content changes."

More about Dhurandhar 2

Starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Gaurav Gera, and Danish Pandor, Dhurandhar is a duology. The film's first instalment was based on a high-stakes covert counter-terrorism operation. It traces an undercover Indian intelligence agent who infiltrates Karachi's criminal syndicates and political power structures in Pakistan in an effort to dismantle a terror network targeting India. The film's storyline loosely draws inspiration from multiple real-life geopolitical events and conflicts in South Asia.

Talking about its box office collection, the first instalment of the spy action entertainer minted a whopping Rs 1,328 crore worldwide when it was released globally on December 5, 2025. The sequel also had an earth-shattering run, as it amassed over Rs 1,300 crore in the Hindi version alone. It also raked in great overseas collections.