Shazia Iqbal makes her Instagram private after backlash over Dhurandhar review

Filmmaker Shazia Iqbal recently found herself in the centre of controversy after she shared her review for Aditya Dhar’s blockbuster film Dhurandhar. After the Ranveer Singh-starrer released on Netflix, the Dhadak 2 director reviewed the film, calling it ‘sinister’ on her Instagram stories, although she did not name it directly. However, the internet was quick to join the dots and criticised her for her stance.

Shazia Iqbal makes Instagram account private following backlash

Shazia Iqbal took to Instagram stories to criticise Dhurandhar without naming the film. She wrote, “What a sinister film! It’s not hidden, it’s not unintentional — inciting hate and violence is in the DNA of the film,” before adding, “But it’s a ‘well-made’ film, guys… with some cool BGM. Well done, industry dude bros. Glad that most of y’all don’t care about minorities enough to even hide your blatant apathy.”

Screenshots of her reviews soon started circulating on social media. Many Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) users slammed her for her stance. “Did Shazia Iqbal watch her own project `Sacred Games` for the first time? Or was it “Houseful 2”?” cone user wrote noting how she was the production designer on both projects. Another user wrote, “I Genuinely Think She wants To Be Cool But We All Know What Dhurandhar is.”

Amid backlash, Shazia has now reportedly made her previously public Instagram account private.

Other celebrities who disagreed with the film

Notably, Shazia is not the first Bollywood celebrity to present conflicting views on Dhurandhar’s politics. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap opened up about the film and said, “I liked the film, but I didn`t like some of the ideologies. The dialogue about `This is the new India` and one long political monologue, among a total of three scenes, were unnecessary; even without them, the film`s impact would not have diminished.”

Hrithik Roshan had also said, “I may disagree with the politics of it, and argue about the responsibilities us filmmakers should bear as citizens of the world. Nevertheless, can`t ignore how loved and learnt from this one as a student of cinema. Amazing.”

Dhurandhar features an ensemble cast including Ranveer Singh, Sara Arjun, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt among others. The film collected over Rs 1328 crore worldwidethrough it theatrical run before its OTT release on Netflix. The sequel, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, will hit screens on March 19.