Ram Gopal Varma shared his views on the upcoming clash between Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic, both releasing on 19 March. According to the maverick filmmaker, the battle is not about North vs South or Bollywood vs Sandalwood. Instead, he believes it represents a clash between two different cinema cultures.
Varma compared the films to a “David vs Goliath” situation. He said KGF 2 once looked like a box office giant, but Dhurandhar achieved even bigger collections. Now, he sees Dhurandhar 2 as the underdog facing Toxic.
According to him, the main difference is in how filmmakers view audiences. He claims Ranveer Singh’s film respects audience intelligence while Toxic assumes viewers prefer simple mass content.
“KGF 2 was a LOCAL film that aimed at the DUMBNESS in the MASSES and Dhurandhar aimed at the INTELLIGENCE in the MASSES,” RGV wrote.
Varma argues that Dhurandhar became global because it trusted the audience’s thinking ability. According to Varma, the huge box office success of Dhurandhar proved that so-called mass audiences are smarter than many filmmakers believe.
“Aditya Dhar never once presumed the audience was dumb, but after the film released, the MASSES answered in a thundering, earth-shaking voice: “YES, WE ARE ACTUALLY THAT INTELLIGENT… THANK YOU FOR NOTICING,” the filmmaker wrote.
Ram Gopal Varma then lists what he sees as key differences between Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic. According to him, one film promotes mindless hero worship while the other allows audiences to discover heroes through their moral choices in the story.
He criticises unrealistic, gravity-defying stunts and loud background music in Toxic that push viewers to clap and whistle. In contrast, he praises Dhurandhar 2 for realistic action, strong performances and moments of silence that let emotions speak.
Varma also compared big budgets used in Toxic to glorify one larger-than-life hero with smaller budgets that focus on making every character feel human. According to him, some films treat audiences like they cannot think while others trust them to follow complex plots.
“Vulgar budgets blown on VFX fireworks, eyesore sets and stars just to hide creative vaccum VERSUS every single rupee in Dhurandhar spent on crafting lethal, immersive emotions that stay with you forever,” Varma wrote.
Ram Gopal Varma then criticises excessive slow-motion shots, flashy VFX and expensive sets used to hide weak storytelling. In his view, one film asks viewers to switch off their brains. The other movie challenges them to think and feel deeply.
He wrote, “A film that begs the audience to switch their brains off to enjoy it versus a film forcing you to think, feel and question every frame.”
Love for Aditya Dhar?
Ram Gopal Varma then clarifies that his praise for Dhurandhar was not based on Adtya Dhar. His take is built on his “HOPE for INDIAN CINEMA”.
“I am waiting with bated breath for MARCH 19th to know if INDIA is DHURANDHAR or TOXIC,” he concludes.
Dhurandhar 2 will reprise Ranveer Singh as Hamza Ali Mazari. It is likely to include the original cast, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi and Sara Arjun.
Yami Gautam and Vicky Kaushal are reportedly going to play cameo roles in the movie. However, the biggest buzz is that Salman Khan is going to play the main villain, Bade Saab.
Toxic follows the massive success of KGF 2. Yash will be joined by Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi and Tara Sutaria.
