RGV calls Dhurandhar 2 vs Toxic a ‘judgment day’ clash between truth and style
Ram Gopal Varma called Dhurandhar 2 vs Toxic a clash of realism vs style, and questioned whether audiences prefer result-driven cinema or grandeur. Read his long note inside.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma stressed on the much-awaited box office clash between Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic and described the clash on March 19 as much more than a competition between the two films. In a long, sharply worded social media post, Varma described the release as a collision between two fundamentally different ideas of cinema – one that is rooted in realism and outcome, and the other that is driven by style and attitude.
Using the portmanteau hashtag #Dhuroxic, Varma positioned the Aditya Dhar directed film as a film built on “cause, effect and consequence”, where violence is not decorative but moral, psychological and political. According to him, characters in such cinema act out of necessity, not because they need to look “cool”, and storytelling requires an intelligent viewer who is able to connect with silence and discomfort.
In contrast, Varma characterized the Geetu Mohandas directed film as cinema where “style precedes logic”, arguing that the violence exists primarily to show attitude and does not add depth to the narrative. He further stressed that if audiences are looking for excitement rather than emotional engagement, are accepting of fantasy “dressed as seriousness” or are willing to confront “grim reality” then the grand clash will prove to be a spectacular box office hit.
