Dhurandhar actor Madhavan says he makes note of critics who call films ‘disaster’, write them off: ‘Faced it with Rang De Basanti too’

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Madhavan, who has played the role of Ajay Sanyal in Dhurandhar, revealed that he makes note of critics who prematurely write off films.

“I note down people who call it ‘the end.’ Some critics genuinely review a film—they’re either very new or very seasoned and understand what reviewing means. But there are others who, on the day of release or even before it, use words like ‘disaster’ in their headline. That reduces their relevance for us. As actors, we dream of moments like this—when people dismiss a film at first and are then shocked by its success,” the actor-filmmaker told Pooja Talwar.

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Madhavan recalled the atmosphere around Rang De Basanti nearly two decades ago.

“I remember when Rang De Basanti was about to release, several distributors backed out. After the first show, they said, ‘This film is too long, not our kind of movie, we can’t carry this.’ Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra was sitting near the TV, his head between his knees, in Delhi. He said, ‘After this, I’ll have to go back to my village. I don’t understand anything beyond this—I can’t make a better film.’ He was distraught. Aamir, Ronnie Screwvala—we were all in the same room.”

He added: “Seeing Rakeysh like that scared me. Meri phat gayi thi, thinking—‘What just happened? This was supposed to be a great film.’ But Aamir and Ronnie were confident. They kept motivating him, and Ronnie said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m behind you.’ And then the film exploded—not just financially but in terms of impact.”

That experience stayed with Madhavan and shaped his perspective on Dhurandhar, a film that unapologetically exposes Pakistan’s plot against India and doesn’t shy away from showing graphic brutality.

“So when a similar situation happened with Dhurandhar, I had already seen it before.”