“That Cannot Be A Crime”: R Madhavan On Dhurandhar ‘Propaganda’ Label
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Published: August 10, 2026
R Madhavan questioned why being “overly Indian” is considered wrong in films like Dhurandhar, and denied the film being propaganda, highlighting its balanced portrayal that also includes Pakistan.
Despite Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar and its sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, opening to polarised reviews, some lauded the spy-action thriller while a certain section criticised the films as vehicles that allegedly attempted to whitewash the government’s missteps. R Madhavan, who played a crucial role in the film, responded to the criticisms and questioned why it is wrong to be seen as Indian. During an interview with Galatta Plus, he shared his views on Dhurandhar getting the “propaganda” label, as well as spoke about his directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.
“I don’t understand how being an Indian can be seen as a wrong thing. What does it mean by ‘being overly Indian’? I don’t know. Is it not okay to show myself as being ‘too Indian’? I don’t know. That’s not my conditioning; I showed that. This is not even a political statement. Dhurandhar was based in Pakistan. Good and bad things happen there as well, just as much as they do in India. So, I don’t understand what the ‘propaganda’ in it is,” R Madhavan shared.
He continued, “In Nambi sir’s (Nambi Narayanan) case, I only showed what happened in his life. How can I be honest with the story if I am afraid to show who he really is? He is a person who goes to the temple. GD Naidu (inventor and engineer), on the other hand, is a nastik (atheist). So, we can’t show such things in the movie. I have to be true to that character. Because of that, one can’t say that I don’t believe in God or vice versa. I am an actor, and my job is to portray things as they are. My personal opinion is that I want to enhance all the good things about India. That cannot be a crime.”
Madhavan
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