‘Dhurandhar!! Brilliant, EPIC’: Shobhaa De’s ‘Off the Cuff Review’ of Ranveer Singh’s Film Slams Critics, Aditya Dhar Replies With ‘Thank You So Much Ma'am’ (Watch Video)

Author and columnist Shobhaa De is known to call a spade a spade in her writings and social media posts about current affairs and happenings in the country. She has been also reviewing films via her vlogs on Instagram, with her honest opinion irrespective of the sentiment of the masses. While people expected her to review Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar as a violent film, misogynist, and so on, Shobhaa De’s ‘Off the Cuff” review of Dhurandhar is anything but that! In her video post on Instagram dated December 14, Ms De surprised her readers and viewers by saying that she loved Dhurandhar and that she wouldn’t mind watching it again. "Dhurandhar!! Epic all the way!", she captioned her post. Not only that, but she also called out film critics (read: Anupama Chopra and the like) for unnecessarily calling out the film. Shobhaa De went to the extent of saying that she doesn’t care if trolls land as a death squad at her door for her honest take on Dhurandhar. The film’s director Aditya Dhar immediately noticed Shobhaa De’s review of Dhurandhar and thanked her. Here’s what Shobhaa De said on Dhurandhar. ‘What the Hell’: Shobhaa De Slams Netflix’s ‘Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale’ Documentary, Calls Lady Superstar’s Film ‘Blah’ (Read Post).

‘Dhurandhar’ Review by Shobhaa De – Watch Video:

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What Did Shobhaa De Say in Her ‘Dhurandhar’ Review?

Here’s the exact quote of Shobhaa De on Dhurandhar: “Hi, I've just come back after watching Dhurandhar, and this is an off-the-cuff review – absolutely without any kind of narrative, script, nothing...Spontaneous responses to a film. I don't mind watching (Dhurandhar) all over again. Yes, three and a half hours of it, I didn't want to miss a moment! And honestly, I do not understand what the controversy is about, and the Right wing and the Left wing. Why can't you just watch a movie for being what it is, a movie?” ‘Dhurandhar’ Song ‘FA9LA’: Lyrics and Meaning of Rapper Flipperachi’s Arabic Track That Powered Akshaye Khanna’s Viral Dance Moment (Watch Video).

She added, “And remember the effort that goes into making a monumental epic movie of this kind. Forget all that, forget the politics of it, it's utter nonsense, manipulative and awful. And if there are critics who are losing their jobs over this, and if there are people who want to send a death squad to my door, I really don't care, because to me, I watched it as a viewer, with absolutely zero political bias. It's not about politics. It's about a story, perhaps fictionalised; the person on whose life it's based must have been a super, super, super-duper hero. I will not name the person.”

Shobhaa De went on to praise Dhurandhar and Ranveer Singh, saying, “But let me tell you just this much. It is brilliant. It is epic! And as for Ranveer Singh, come on, come on! The restraint, how controlled, how controlled, when he could so easily have strutted and done his whole swag thing, put in a song for himself, done some hook step, romanced the girl…Frankly, I didn't much care for the girl (Sara Arjun). But that's my very personal opinion. She was strategically important, but not really a ‘romantic, romantic’ interest. Ranveer, I thought, chewed up the entire film.” Rakhi Sawant Joins ‘Dhurandhar’ Song ‘FA9LA’ Trend! ‘Bigg Boss 14’ Actress Recreates Akshaye Khanna’s Viral Entry Scene, Threatens Jaya Bachchan With ‘Blue Drum’ at Mumbai Event (Watch Video).

On Akshaye Khanna, Aditya Dhar, and the music of Dhurandhar, Shobhaa De said, “I liked Akshay a lot. Can't say I went nuts over his performance. He's a superb actor. But because of the overkill, because of that one song (“FA9LA”) and that one step and all of that, maybe I expected much more than what I actually got. The star of the film, yes, the director, of course, because without his vision, there'd be no film. But the music, it's nuts, it's insane! I mean, you know, orchestrated, choreographed by the second to Bhangra beats and to operatic scores and to favourite old qawwalis and love songs, and even “Monica, Oh My Darling”. Yes, oh my darling! I love Dhurandhar. Go watch it. Bye from me.”

Aditya Dhar Responds to Shobhaa De

Dhurandhar director Aditya Dhar was delighted watching the review of Shobhaa De. He replied in her post’s comments, saying, Wow!! Best off the cuff review of Dhurandhar! 🔥 Thank you so much Maam! 🙏❤️🤗 (sic).”

Aditya Dhar Thanks Shobhaa De for 'Dhurandhar' Review - See Comment:

Singer Ila Arun also reacted to Shobhaa De’s Dhurandhar review, saying, “For the first time I like your review. And I totally agree Ranveer singh s performance is so restrained. For me He was outstanding. All other Actors are well casted and performed well. Akshay Khanna has really surprised me . His roll is ✍️ backed, and he has done Excellent job. Brilliant Directing by Aditya Dhar. Congratulations to all (sic).” Art curator and columnist Nisha Jamvwal wrote, "Well said and agree 100 percent."

‘Dhurandhar’ Box Office Collection

Dhurandhar released on December 5, 2025, and is going strong at the box office after two weekends. Audiences have not gone by certain reviews of Dhurandhar and have been flocking to the theatres. So much so that some cinema theatres added midnight shows for the film, with early shows starting at 7 AM. As per the latest reports, in its two weeks at the box office, Dhurandhar has grossed INR 434.05 crore (US$51 million) in India and INR 111.55 crore (US$13 million) in the overseas market. This makes its worldwide gross total as INR 545.60 crore (US$65 million), as of December 14, 2025. According to Jio Studios, the latest box office figures were over INR 550 crore worldwide. ‘Dhurandhar’ Box Office a Collection Day 11: Aditya Dhar’s Spy Action Film Starring Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna Crosses INR 550 Crore Mark Worldwide!

'Dhurandhar' Box Office Crosses INR 550 Crore - See Post:

 

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'Dhurandhar' Cast

Each member of the Dhurandhar cast is being praised for their acting. Not just the lead star Ranveer Singh in the title role, but supporting actor Akshaye Khanna as Rehman Dakait has become a sensation with his portrayal and especially his dance to the Flipperachi song “FA9LA”. Also being praised are Dhurandhar cast members Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi, and Gaurav Gera. The film also stars Sara Arjun, Manav Gohil, Danish Pandor, Saumya Tandon and Naveen Kaushik, among others.

‘Dhurandhar’ OTT Release Date and ‘Dhurandhar 2’

Dhurandhar producers Jio Studios and Aditya Dhar’s B62 Studios have confirmed the sequel, Dhurandhar 2, which will release on March 19, 2026. Meanwhile, the OTT release date of Dhurandhar could be in the last week of January 2026, close to India’s Republic Day on January 26. Dhurandhar may release on Netflix on streaming. ‘Dhurandhar’ OTT Release Date in January: Will Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar’s Film Stream on Netflix or JioHotstar? Here’s What We Know.

Going by its craze in the cinemas, it looks like Dhurandhar will complete the entire December 2025 in theatres and end the year with a bang!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2025 02:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).