This year, Indian cinema is set to witness a major box-office clash. After the blockbuster success of Dhurandhar, fans have been eagerly awaiting the film’s sequel.
Meanwhile, actor Yash is gearing up to return to the big screen with Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups. Both films are slated to release on March 19. Amid the growing anticipation over who will win the clash, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has weighed in with his take.
Ram Gopal Varma talks about Dhurandhar and Toxic’s clash
On Monday, RGV took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a note describing Dhurandhar 2 versus Toxic as the “ultimate clash between ultra-realistic cinema and ultra-unrealistic cinema”. He went on to explain the philosophical differences between the two films before declaring March 19 as “judgement day”.
RGV wrote, “D (Dhurandhar) is built on cause leading to effect and consequence. It reveals that violence has moral, psychological and political foundations. The characters act because they must, not because they will look cool. It believes the audience is intelligent. In T (Toxic), style precedes logic. Violence exists to display attitude, not necessity. T assumes the audience wants stimulation, not emotional engagement like D.”
He further added that while Dhurandhar respects grim reality and has a protagonist who is human, can fail, misjudge, bleed and age, with power that is limited and contextual, Toxic sells fantasy dressed as seriousness. Its protagonist is born bulletproof, and the story bends backwards to protect his “ultra-cool factor”, with the world existing only to worship him.
RGV also noted that Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar “speaks in silence. Its camera behaves like a witness; frames are observational and editing respects time, geography and narrative.” In contrast, Yash’s Toxic “shouts. Its camera behaves like a master; slow motion bloats reality and editing manufactures non-existent intensity.”
RGV says Dhurandhar vs Toxic clash will answer many questions
The filmmaker dubbed the clash #Dhuroxic and said it would answer questions such as, “Will the Dhurandhar audience still root for the same dark hero walking in slow motion? Will smoking in slow motion still equal depth of character? Will violence still be fine just for the sake of spectacle? Watching #Dhuroxic side by side on March 19 will be like being inside a war zone versus standing next to a fashion shoot.”
He concluded, “One is cinema that cuts into flesh. The other is cinema that poses for the camera. #Dhuroxic won’t be just another clash – it will be a collision between truth and styling. It could mark the beginning of the end of hero worship ushered in by pan-India blockbusters from the South, where audiences stop becoming devotees and scoff at bulletproof masculinity, wanting relatable humans instead of gods. Or it could be the other way round – only God and the audience will know.”
RGV had earlier heaped praise on Dhurandhar after its release, calling it a quantum leap in Indian cinema and crediting Aditya Dhar for “single-handedly changing the future of Indian cinema”. He also lauded the cast’s performances. When the teaser of Toxic was released earlier this month, RGV praised director Geetu Mohandas, calling her “the ultimate symbol of women empowerment”. However, the teaser divided the internet, with some gushing over it and others criticising it, even declaring Dhurandhar 2 the likely winner of the clash.
About Toxic and Dhurandhar 2
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups also stars Nayanthara, Tara Sutaria, Huma Qureshi, Kiara Advani and Rukmini Vasanth in key roles. The period gangster action thriller marks Yash’s return to the big screen after the success of KGF 2 in 2022.
Dhurandhar 2, meanwhile, will delve deeper into Ranveer Singh’s character’s backstory and show how he rises to rule Lyari after killing Akshaye Khanna’s Rehman Dakait. Directed by Aditya Dhar, the sequel will also see R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Sanjay Dutt reprising their roles, along with Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi and Danish Pandor.