Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge: Rakesh Bedi responds to ‘propaganda’ criticism - 'The verdict is that people are loving it'

Ranveer Singh starrer Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge is currently running in theatres and Rakesh Bedi is winning praise for his performance as Jameel Jamali. In a recent interview, the veteran actor opened up about the film’s massive response, the ongoing “propaganda” debate, and his experience of working with Aditya Dhar.Reacting to the criticism labelling the film as “propaganda,” Rakesh Bedi told NDTV, “I don’t believe in politics. I think it’s the cinema... Everybody has the right to like or dislike a film. But I don’t think it’s right to put a film into some kind of a category.” He added, “The verdict is that people are loving it,” pointing to the strong audience turnout.The actor also credited the film’s writing and scale for its success. “Dhurandhar’s writing, screenplay is great. People haven’t seen a film of this scale being mounted ever,” he said, adding that audiences are responding to the film beyond the noise around it.Describing the response to Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, he said, “This is a mad frenzy which is going on. I’ve never seen something like this in my career.”He further urged audiences to experience the film in theatres, saying, “So many shows are going on round the clock... People are celebrating cinema.” Speaking about sharing screen space with Ranveer Singh, Rakesh said, “Stardom of any star is an outside phenomenon… When you’re on set, you are in character.”He added, “Everybody has to be on the same page and give respect to each other. Only then the magic happens.”Reacting to the film’s global buzz, including a viral video of Finland President Alexander Stubb and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney discussing Dhurandhar during a run in London, he said, “What could be a bigger compliment? I was elated.”Recalling his conversation with director Aditya Dhar, he shared, “He used to say, ‘We are going to raise the bar.’ After I saw the film, I told him, ‘You have not raised the bar, you have broken the bar.’” Calling the franchise a milestone in his career, Rakesh Bedi said, “It is a gift... I give full credit to Aditya Dhar for casting me.”Apart from Ranveer Singh and Rakesh Bedi, the film also features R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal and Sara Arjun in key roles.