Mumbai: After senior film critic Anupama Chopra faced backlash for her critical review of Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’, the Film Critics Guild (FCG) on Thursday condemned targeted attacks against its members.
Condemning the “attacks, harassment and hate”, FCG said that the difference of opinion had “devolved into coordinated abuse” and personal attacks on critics, and “organised attempts” to disgrace their professional integrity.
The association claimed that recently its members, including Anupama and Sucharita Tyagi, faced threats, including “vicious online campaigns aimed at silencing their perspectives” for expressing their unbiased opinion about a film.
Chopra’s review of ‘Dhurandhar’ on The Hollywood Reporter India was taken down by the portal after she became a target of trolls.
“More concerningly, there have been attempts to tamper with existing reviews, influence editorial positions, and persuade publications to alter or dilute their stance,” the association said. “This willingness to police opinion sets a dangerous precedent. Claims that professional film critics have a bias or a political axe to grind are unsubstantiated and malicious.”
The Guild further said that it was concerned about the safety of its members from across the country.
It urged the public, the industry and stakeholders “to recognise that liking or disliking a film is your right but expecting critics to fall in line is not”.
For the unversed, in her review of ‘Dhurandhar’, titled ‘A Tough Sit’, Anupama said: “Directed by Aditya Dhar, who six years ago delivered the blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike, this three-hour-thirty-four-minute film is only part 1, with part 2 arriving in March. Aditya tactically weaves in real events like the Kandahar hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and 26/11 recordings to push buttons harder, but the mix of fact and flamboyance proves both dangerous and clunky.”
She added, “Ranveer Singh plays Hamza, an undercover operative who infiltrates Karachi’s Lyari underworld, while a spectacular cast including Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, and Sara Arjun fills out a Gotham-like world of gang rivalry, ISI machinations, and extreme violence.”
Watch the review video here:
Watched #DhurandharMovie Agree with Anupama Chopra review. Too much “Testosterone”, “Anti-Pakistan narrative” but based on facts!
That’s why I would rate it as one of the Best Movies in recent times!!
Kudos to @AdityaDharFilms
Superb #AkshayKhanna @RanveerOfficial @duttsanjay pic.twitter.com/8UuhIGoVYA— Dr. Manjunath Kounte (@MRKounte) December 6, 2025
Reacting to her review, veteran actor Paresh Rawal wrote on X, “Aren’t you tired of being Miss Irrelevant?”
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the spy thriller stars Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan and Sanjay Dutt and Sara Arjun in key roles.
The film hit theatres on December 5 and is doing wonders at the box-office.
