Dhurandhar Actor Responds to Claims of Rahman Dakait Glorification: “It’s Not That Much”

Naveen Kaushik Responds to Claims of Glorifying Rahman Dakait in Dhurandhar.

Aditya Dhar and Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar continues to dominate the box office, crossing ₹900 crore worldwide and becoming the first Indian release of 2025 to reach this milestone. While the film has been widely appreciated, some critics have raised concerns that it glorifies notorious figures like Rahman Dakait.

Actor Naveen Kaushik, who plays Donga in the film, recently addressed these claims in an interview with Live Hindustan. He said, “Mere hisab se utna glorify nahi kiya gaya hai. Ek character ka banana zaruri tha taaki hum dikha sakein ki Hamza, the protagonist, jo spy hai, kaise apna mission complete karta hai un logon ke beech.”

He added, “Rahman Dakait ka jo character hai, jisme uska beta mar jaata hai… woh dikhana zaruri tha taaki uske peeche jo gandagi aur wahisapana hai, woh saamne aa sake. Jab tak unki ‘achhai’ establish nahi karoge, log accept nahi karenge.”

Naveen further explained the modern approach to villainy in cinema: “Woh zamana khatam ho gaya jab over-the-top villains jaise Mogambo kaam karte the. Aaj ke zamane mein, audience world cinema dekh kar aware ho gayi hai. Characters ab grey hote hain, aur yeh approach is character ke liye zaruri tha.”

Set in Pakistan and inspired by true events from the early 2000s, Dhurandhar follows an Indian spy infiltrating the Lyari gangs. Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film also stars Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Sara Arjun, and Rakesh Bedi.

With its current momentum, Dhurandhar is expected to enter the top 10 highest-grossing Indian films of all time and is on track to surpass Secret Superstar, Animal, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, making the ₹1,000 crore worldwide mark a realistic target.