Veteran actor Paresh Rawal appears to have taken yet another dig at film critic Anupama Chopra over her review of Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, which she had described as an "exhausting, relentless and frenzied espionage thriller propelled by charismatic, murderous men, too much testosterone, shrill nationalism and inflammatory anti-Pakistan narratives." Following massive backlash from netizens, including Paresh Rawal, Chopra eventually removed the review video from YouTube.
Paresh Rawal's Subtle Dig At Anupama Chopra
Amid the controversy, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma on Friday, December 17, praised Dhurandhar, calling the Aditya Dhar directorial a 'quantum leap in Indian cinema' and stating that its success should serve as a 'warning' for the film industry to 'grow up.'
Responding to Verma's tweet, Paresh wrote, "Hey Ramu, thanks for teaching our so-called CRITICS how to review a film! Hope they grow up!", a remark that was widely seen as an indirect dig at Anupama Chopra.
Further, RGV replied to Paresh and wrote, "Sirrrr every once in a while the industry needs a shot in the arm and @AdityaDharFilms STABBED IT."
Film Critics Guild Condemn Attacks On Film Critics
After Anupama faced backlash, the Film Critics Guild condemned the attacks on the movie critics for their reviews of Dhurandhar. In a long statement, they wrote, "What began as disagreement has rapidly devolved into coordinated abuse, personal attacks on individual critics, and organised attempts to discredit their professional integrity. In recent days, several of our members have faced intimidation, including direct threats and vicious online campaigns aimed at silencing their perspectives, simply for expressing their professional assessment of a film."
Further, the statement alleged attempts to tamper with existing reviews, influence editorial positions, and pressure publications to alter or dilute their stance, asserting that film critics cannot be intimidated for doing their jobs and that criticism should not be reduced to one-line social media reactions or forced to align with promotional narratives.
As of now, Anupama Chopra has not issued any statement about removing her Dhurandhar review.
