Three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej has openly praised the Ranveer Singh-featured Dhurandhar, the Indian spy thriller, as “Indian cinema coming of age,” and furthermore, he has paid tribute to its acting, editing, dialogues, and music. Kej went to social media site X, and he termed the film’s almost 3.5-hour duration as captivating, and he said it has been making the audience ‘hungry for more,’ thereby praising Aditya Dhar’s imagination and the quality of the production’s technology.
Was travelling non-stop, took a short break to watch #Dhurandhar.. and WOW! Indian cinema coming of age. The 3.5 hour run-time goes by in a flash, with us asking for more! The performances, edit, dialogues, all absolutely top notch. Incredible music by @shashwatology. A spy… pic.twitter.com/Nh3fUZVSzT
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) December 13, 2025
A Subtle Critique of Pathaan
In the midst of his support for Dhurandhar, Kej did not miss the opportunity to target Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s mega hit Pathaan. Through his post, he pointed to the negative critics of Dhurandhar who might rather watch films with a provocative female Pakistani ISI agent prancing around in a bikini to ‘Besharam Rang’” and so on, referring to the disputed song sequence in Pathaan. Kej’s remarks triggered further debates regarding not only the changes in the portrayal of spy movies but also their acceptance by the viewers and critics.
About Dhurandhar
Dhurandhar, a film Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, it features Ranveer Singh in the lead role along with Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and others in an arresting spy thriller that is somewhat based on the actual intelligence operations. The movie has been a major talk of the town because of its acting and plot, and it received accolades from other artists as well as industry insiders. Moreover, it made a remarkable run at the box office, turning out to be one of the major successes of Hindi films this year. Fans have started to count down to the sequel that has been announced and set for release in March 2026.
Industry and Audience Reaction
Kej’s comments have spurred a lively discussion of Dhurandhar in the industry, with the main echo being the movie’s daring storytelling along with technical aspects. Besides, social media users were pointing out the pros and cons of realism versus stylish presentation in spy thrillers, and on the other hand, some pointed out how Dhurandhar was different from former franchise films in the same genre. Moreover, on the downside, a few fans were criticizing Kej’s remarks as being uncalled for since he was trying to compare one movie’s success with another’s and hence diminish the achievements of another.
