New Delhi, March 25 Actor R Madhavan has issued a clarification regarding a scene in "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" where his character is allegedly shown smoking a cigarette while reciting a verse from the Sikh religious text 'Dasam Granth'.
The controversy began after Gurjyot Singh Keer, president of the Sikhs in Maharashtra organisation, which is affiliated with the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), accused the film's team, including director Aditya Dhar, lead star Ranveer Singh, and Madhavan, of disrespecting Gurbani and hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community.
He alleged that the sequence in the movie depicts Madhavan's character, Ajay Sanyal, smoking a cigarette while reciting a sacred verse – 'Sura so Pehchaniye Jo lade Deen ke Heth' – from the Dasam Granth Sahib, authored by Guru Gobind Singh.
"I strongly condemn the blatant disrespect shown towards Gurbani by the makers of Dhurandhar 2. Gurbani is not mere dialogue – it is divine, sacred, and holds immense spiritual significance for the Sikh community. Such irresponsible depiction reflects ignorance and a lack of sensitivity towards our faith," Keer said in a statement.
He urged the entire Sikh community to stand united and peacefully protest the depiction, and called for showing black flags to Dhar, Madhavan, and Singh wherever they appear, if they fail to issue a sincere apology to the SGPC and the Sikh community.
On Tuesday evening, Madhavan issued a clarification through a video message posted on Instagram.
"On behalf of 'Dhurandhar' family, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for showering us with so much love. Recently, we've learned that some people have been hurt by the fact that in one scene of this film, while reciting lines from Guru Gobind Singh's Dasam Granth, I smoked a cigarette, and it pained them. I assure you, this is absolutely not right," he said.
The actor said there has been a misunderstanding and clarified that he had finished the cigarette before he recited the lines.
"I am absolutely certain that before this scene, before saying this line, Aditya Dhar, who pays more attention to all these things than I do, told me to put out the cigarette well before delivering this line.
"So, I had properly put out the cigarette. And if you watch the scene, you won't see any smoke coming out of my mouth, nor is there smoke anywhere in the frame, nor is there any trace of smoke until the end of that scene," he added.
According to the actor, the film team were particular about not hurting people's feelings with any scene.
"We stand with the entire Sikh community. And we respect them a lot. I go to the Golden Temple before every film release of mine; everyone knows this. Please trust our belief," he added.
The film was released on March 19 and has already crossed the Rs 900 crore mark at the global box office, according to industry tracking site Sacnilk.
Featuring Ranveer in the lead role, the film is a follow-up to Dhar's 2025 release "Dhurandhar", which went on to earn over Rs 1,000 crore at the box office worldwide.
The sequel charts the rise of Singh’s character Hamza Ali Mazari in the Karachi underworld while also delving into his origins as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, tracing the journey of the young man who eventually transforms into the covert operative.
"Dhurandhar: The Revenge" is produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar and released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam languages.