Yes, to make a statement like “the greatest of all directors in the world,” there must be supporting evidence. And there are indeed several strong points that support such an argument.
Making a film with a total runtime close to eight hours in a single production cycle, and releasing one half first and the other half just three months later as planned, speaks volumes about Aditya Dhar’s confidence and clarity of vision.
No other major director has achieved such a feat in this manner. James Cameron took several years to make the subsequent parts of Avatar.
Even S. S. Rajamouli had a gap of two years between the two parts of Baahubali and continued working on the second installment during that period.
Prashanth Neel also took a considerable gap between the two parts of KGF.
Similarly, Sukumar spent nearly three to four years working on Pushpa and Pushpa 2, refining the second film until the very end before release.
In comparison, Aditya Dhar has demonstrated much greater clarity, confidence, and creative vision.
Another major aspect is that he kept the film’s budget under perfect control, unlike some of the other directors mentioned above.
Beyond that, Aditya Dhar made Dhurandhar as a fictional narrative based on real events, which requires extensive research and strong conviction in presentation. This is a unique and highly challenging genre.
Films like Avatar, Baahubali, KGF, and Pushpa are largely set in fictional worlds that can be shaped in any way for cinematic convenience. In that respect as well, Aditya Dhar earns higher marks.
Apart from that, Dhurandhar is a hardcore, full-scale action film with no romantic songs and no dependence on heavy VFX spectacle. Holding the audience’s attention purely through such a genre is an even bigger challenge, and Aditya Dhar has done it successfully.
Another major highlight is that there are no newly composed songs in Dhurandhar. Almost all the songs are drawn from older tracks or recreated classics.
Achieving stupendous success without introducing brand-new songs is yet another remarkable feat accomplished by Aditya Dhar.
Moreover, Dhurandhar is an adults-only film, having received an “A” certificate from the censor board. Even that did not stop its box office rampage or its wide national appeal.
The film also became a subject of discussion and debate on leading Pakistani television channels, something that has rarely happened with any other Indian film.
So by every measure, Aditya Dhar has taken on very different challenges and excelled at the box office, delivering a thoroughly engaging and hugely successful film in the spy-action genre.
Therefore, as of 2026, Aditya Dhar can be regarded as one of the top directors in Indian cinema. Even in the global context, very few directors have attempted a project of this scale and length in a single production cycle with such confidence and gone on to achieve this level of commercial success.
Madhunandan Akkishetty