Naveen Kaushik, who plays Donga in the hit spy action thriller Dhurandhar, feels that Ranveer Singh deserves more recognition for his performance than Akshaye Khanna. The Aditya Dhar directorial, which also stars R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt, was released on December 5, 2025, and has been a box office success, grossing ₹1200 crore globally. The film has sparked debate among viewers, with some believing Akshaye Khanna's portrayal of Rehman Dakait is the highlight, while others favor Ranveer Singh's restrained performance as Hamza Ali Mazhari.
In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Kaushik shared his experiences working with both Singh and Khanna. He noted that Singh treated everyone on set as friends, while Khanna maintained a distance, fully invested in his character. Kaushik observed that this on-screen dynamic translated into real life, with the "gang members" interacting and having fun together, while Khanna remained apart.
Kaushik stated, "I do feel it's unfair," emphasizing that Akshaye Khanna has undoubtedly created an iconic character, but Ranveer Singh's performance, with its subtle nuances and voice modulation, was more challenging. He highlighted the difficulty for someone as energetic as Singh to suppress that energy and play the complete opposite.
He cited the "FA9LA" song as an example, where everyone except Ranveer Singh's character is dancing. Kaushik explained that restraining oneself in such a moment is incredibly hard, but people didn't notice it due to Akshaye Khanna's commanding presence. He believes Ranveer Singh's character is deliberately underplayed and doesn't seek attention. Kaushik added that if Ranveer Singh had ego issues, he could have easily tried to draw focus to himself, but he stayed true to his character and allowed others to shine.
Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar also weighed in on the debate, stating that while he liked Akshaye Khanna, he liked Ranveer Singh more. He elaborated that Ranveer Singh's role demanded subtlety, making his performance particularly challenging, whereas Akshaye Khanna had more liberty with his character. Shiva Rajkumar added that Ranveer Singh's subtlety was brilliantly executed.
Dhurandhar features Ranveer Singh as Hamza, an Indian spy infiltrating Lyari's criminal and political underworld in Pakistan as part of an anti-terror operation. The film weaves in real-life events involving geopolitical tensions, such as the 1999 IC-814 hijacking and the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. Some experts have said that Dhurandhar could be the film that puts Ranveer Singh on the map. Despite starring in multiple Sanjay Leela Bhansali films and taking on difficult roles, Singh hasn't achieved the same level of recognition as actors like Vicky Kaushal and Ranbir Kapoor.
