New Delhi, April 6 Those who believe "Dhurandhar" is a propaganda film are free to challenge the story or find a director like Aditya Dhar to make an anti-establishment movie, says veteran actor Paresh Rawal.
A great fan of the two-part espionage drama, Rawal said he watched the first twice in theaters and is planning a repeat viewing with the second one this weekend.
The actor said the film changed the audience's thinking, but he is not happy with those dismissing it as propaganda.
"If you want to dismiss someone, you say it is propaganda. If an anti-establishment film can be made, then what is wrong with making a pro-establishment film? There is nothing wrong in that. If you make a film against the government, then it is okay. If the government has done a good job, why shouldn't a pro-establishment film be made?"
"If you think that it is propaganda, then you should challenge it. You should go to court and file a public interest litigation, which you keep doing otherwise. Or you can find another Aditya Dhar and make an anti-film, if you think this is propaganda," the veteran actor told
At a time when the film industry is worried about films not doing well and audiences not coming to theaters, they should support a film like "Dhurandhar" and not dismiss it, he said.
"When you say no one is coming to theaters, films are not working, and the future of Hindi films is very bad, are you trying to demolish a film like "Dhurandhar" instead of supporting it?"
The actor said while watching "Dhurandhar", he felt like he should have been a part of the story.
"For the first time, I felt like I should have been there, not because of "Dhurandhar", but because of the kind of story it is. The story is so huge. It is not a film, it is a saga."
Rawal had played a character inspired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Dhar's "Uri: The Surgical Strike". In "Dhurandhar", the character is played by R Madhavan. Rawal said he spoke to Dhar about he and Madhavan playing the same character in different ways.
"I told him in a funny way. I said, 'Aditya, after watching the film, it seemed like Doval sahab has a twin brother too. One looks like me and the other looks like Madhavan'. He (Dhar) started laughing."
"Bhooth Bangla", directed by Priyadarshan and starring Rawal with Akshay Kumar and Rajpal Yadav, will be released in theaters on April 17.
Presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms Ltd, in association with Cape of Good Films, the film is produced by Akshay Kumar, Shobha Kapoor, and Ektaa R Kapoor.