Kamal Ghorui
Rakesh Bedi, who has been a part of the film industry since the late 1970s and known for iconic shows like ‘Srimaan Srimati’ and movies like ‘Chashme Buddoor’ among many others, has found a fresh wave of appreciation for his role as Jameel Jamali in Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ and now the sequel, ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’. The veteran actor is delighted as his performance continues to win praise from audiences. While the Ranveer Singh led film is largely getting praise, it has also got it share of criticism and many have alleged it to be a propaganda film. In a recent interview, Bedi addressed the ongoing debate around the film being labelled as “propaganda,” making it clear that he does not subscribe to such classifications. “I don’t believe in politics. I think it’s the cinema… Everybody has the right to like or dislike a film. But I don’t think it’s right to put a film into some kind of a category… That it’s pro-establishment or anti-establishment. The verdict is that people are loving it,” he said.He also compared the film to other projects that have faced similar labels, asserting that Dhurandhar stands apart. “Recently, there was a film on Indira Gandhi and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, these films didn’t run for even two days. Dhurandhar’s writing, screenplay is great. People haven’t seen a film of this scale ever,” he added, noting that audiences are truly “celebrating cinema” with the sequel.Speaking about the overwhelming response the film is receiving, Rakesh described the current atmosphere as unprecedented. “This is a mad frenzy which is going on. I’ve never seen something like this in my career at least. Many people have not seen this kind of a frenzy, madness, and euphoria for a film,” he shared.The actor also reacted to a viral video featuring Alexander Stubb and Mark Carney discussing the film during a morning run. Calling it a huge compliment, he said, “What could be a bigger compliment? I was elated to find out that a film that I’m a part of is being talked about at this level. Aditya used to say one thing constantly while making the film. He would say, ‘We are going to raise the bar’. After I saw the film, I said, ‘You have not raised the bar, you have broken the bar’, because people are going to see the movie baar-baar (again and again).”Released on March 19, Dhurandhar: The Revenge features Ranveer Singh in the lead, alongside Sara Arjun, R. Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun Rampal in key roles.
