Ram Gopal Varma calls Dhurandhar 2 an asteroid strike on masala filmmaking

Ram Gopal Varma has made bold predictions about Dhurandhar: The Revenge, calling it an "asteroid strike" that could change mainstream filmmaking in India.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge is gearing up for a massive theatrical release on March 19, and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma believes the sequel could dramatically change the landscape of Indian cinema. Calling it nothing short of an “asteroid strike,” Varma said the film has the potential to redefine mainstream filmmaking and challenge the dominance of formula-driven pan-India spectacles.

Ram Gopal Varma wrote on X, “Dhurandhar 2 has high chances of completely and permanently obliterating the pan India south films movement by establishing a brand new benchmark with ultra realistic making, genuine character depths etc that actually engage the audience’s brain while still delivering a raw visceral impact. Once audiences taste this new standard , every film currently under production in the previous masala style can become instantly endangered.”

He went on to add, “Those ultra big budgeted masala projects that are already deep into shooting or post production will have an uphill task in competing with the new standards set."

Elaborating further on how the film could impact the industry’s current formula-driven model, Ram Gopal Varma warned that big-budget projects relying on tried-and-tested mass elements may struggle if audience preferences shift.

“Producers who bet entire empires on the same previous formulaic making might face empty theatres and career ending losses because of the high costs involved and the audience taste converting to the international standards," the filmmaker wrote.

"Directors married to the belief of “mass + vfx + scale + gravity defying stunts = guaranteed hit will have no choice but to reinvent themselves by studying the Dhurandhar audiences,” he continued.