Other directors stole Dhurandhar director Aditya Dhar’s research, he never got his due, reveals mentor Priyadarshan: ‘One of my best disciples’

Priyadarshan recalled first meeting Dhar when he was working on the script of his 2010 action thriller Aakrosh, starring Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna. He was introduced to Dhar through screenwriter Robin Bhatt. “Aditya (became my) assistant director. He also sat on the script with me,” the filmmaker told Mid-Day.

Dhar then went on to assist Priyadarshan on two films, which he also wrote the dialogues for — Aakrosh and the 2012 action thriller Tezz, starring Devgn, Kangana Ranaut, and Anil Kapoor. During the filming of Tezz, Dhar told Priyadarshan that it was the latter’s 1993 action thriller Gardish, starring Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia, which inspired him to become a filmmaker.

“It was during the shoot of Tezz in Scotland that Aditya told me that he was a budding cricketer, in the under-19 team, but he didn’t get in because the son of a top Indian cricketer beat him to it. (Seeing his) depressed state, his friends took him to watch my film Gardish. That day he decided to quit cricket and become a filmmaker,” revealed Priyadarshan.

Before collaborating with Priyadarshan, Dhar had already written the National Award-winning short film Boond in 2009. He also had a keen ear for music, having written the lyrics of songs in Kabir Khan’s 2006 thriller Kabul Express, Anil Devgan’s 2008 romantic film Haal-E-Dil, K Murali Mohana Rao’s 2009 comedy Daddy Cool, and Girish Dhamija’s 2011 thriller Phhir.

“Dhar never got his due credit because the directors took his research, hard work, and talent, but kept him aside,” said Priyadarshan, adding, “I am very proud of him; he has made it so big.” Last week, Priyadarshan also shared a picture of him with Dhar from the sets of Tezz on his Instagram handle and wrote, “There is no greater happiness than watching my disciple rise with such remarkable success. Congratulations Aditya Dhar on Dhurandhar, and heartfelt best wishes for Dhurandhar 2.”

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Dhurandhar, co-produced by Aditya and Lokesh Dhar’s production B62 Studios, has earned over Rs 850 crore at the domestic box office, becoming the highest grossing Hindi film ever in India. They’re now gearing up to release the sequel, slated to hit cinemas on March 19 across multiple languages.