Just days after storming theatres and dominating audience chatter, Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge has run into a different kind of heat. Aditya Dhar’s action spectacle is now facing political pushback, with Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari objecting to its depiction of Atif Ahmed, a character widely linked to gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed.
That backlash has given the film a sharper public dimension beyond its theatrical performance. Atiq Ahmed, the former MP and gangster, was killed in April 2023 along with his brother Ashraf. Ansari’s remarks have now renewed scrutiny over how mainstream Hindi cinema borrows from recent and deeply contentious political history.
Afzal Ansari Calls Out The Film
Speaking to ANI, Ansari said he had not watched the film but criticised the practice of invoking real personalities while taking shelter behind a disclaimer. In Hindi, he said, “I have not watched that film. Film industry comes with stories. The screenplay is not based on true incidents. They issue a disclaimer. But they think about how their film will succeed. The story should be interesting. When they want to avail benefit, sell film tickets and get relief from government, they can throw up any name in the air.”
He then escalated the attack by alleging that the film projects Atiq Ahmed as an ISI agent and uses the dead to craft a convenient villain, while more powerful figures are never similarly examined on screen. His larger point was that the audience understands which names are considered safe targets and which are not.
The controversy intensified further after casting director Mukesh Chhabra said the team had wanted an actor for Atif Ahmed who looked like Atiq Ahmed. That remark gave the criticism added weight, because it directly tied the character’s screen design to the late politician.
Why The Character Has Triggered A Row
The dispute is not about a passing reference. In Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the Atif Ahmed track sits inside a larger story of terror networks, gangland politics and covert operations, making the resemblance central to the film’s dramatic world rather than incidental. That is what has made the outrage harder to dismiss, especially when the character arrives inside a mass-market action spectacle led by one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars.
Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar: The Revenge stars Ranveer Singh, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi. Produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, the film expands the espionage world established in Dhurandhar and follows covert intelligence operations shaped by terror flashpoints and Karachi’s underworld networks.
Why The Backlash Hits Ranveer Singh At A Key Moment
For Ranveer Singh, this controversy has arrived at a moment when his theatrical choices are once again drawing sustained attention. Before Dhurandhar: The Revenge, his most recent theatrical release was Dhurandhar in 2025, which established this franchise space and reinforced his move toward large-scale action. Before that, he starred in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani in 2023 with Alia Bhatt, a successful theatrical release that kept him firmly in the mainstream conversation.
As of March 2026, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is Singh’s latest release, and Don 3 remains one of his major confirmed upcoming theatrical films. With Dhurandhar and its sequel driving both commercial attention and intense public debate, this stretch of Singh’s career has become one of his most closely watched in recent years.
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