R Madhavan Clarifies Hurting Sikh Sentiments In Dhurandhar 2 Smoking Scene
Updated on: 25 March, 2026 03:07 PM IST |Shweta Shah
R Madhavan on Dhurandhar smoking scene
Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become unstoppable, with moviegoers having a cinematic hangover of a magnificent world created by Aditya Dhar. Despite its humongous success, the film managed to attract some controversies, which forced R. Madhavan to issue a clarification.
Madhavan, who plays the role of Ajay Sanyal – the Director of the Intelligence Bureau – found himself in a controversy after a Shiv Sena leader filed a complaint against him for reciting a verse from the holy Dasam Granth while smoking a cigarette.
The actor took to Instagram and issued a rather lengthy clarification in his latest video, assuring the director took utmost care not to hurt any religious sentiments.
R. Madhavan clarifies the cigarette smoking controversy
The superstar was accused of smoking a cigarette while reciting a verse from the holy book, which has hurt many Sikh sentiments. A political leader from Shiv Sena accused him of disrespecting Guru Gobind Singh and Gurbani.
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Clearing the air around this controversy, Madhavan spoke at length in a video that he shared on Instagram and revealed yet another "peak detailing" moment by Dhar.
View this post on Instagram
His video started with, "Dhurandhar ke pure parivaar ke ore se, aap sabka bahut dhanyavaad humein itna pyaar dene ke liye. Haali mein humko pata chala hai ki kuch logon ko iss baat se takleef hui hai ki iss film ke ek scene mein, Guru Gobind Singh ke Dasam Granth se kuch lines bolte waqt maine cigarette smoke ki hai, and isse unko thes pahunchi hai."
"Main aapko yakeen dilata hoon yeh bilkul sahi nahi hai. (On behalf of Dhurandhar`s entire family, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for showering us with so much love. Recently, we`ve learnt that some people have been hurt by the fact that in one scene of this film, while reciting lines from Guru Gobind Singh`s Dasam Granth, I smoked a cigarette, and it pained them. I assure you, this is absolutely not right," he continued.
Madhavan shares Aditya Dhar`s POV
The Dhurandhar star further added, "Thodi galatfehmi hai. Mujhe pura yakeen hai, yeh scene se pehle, yeh line bolne se pehle Aditya Dhar ji ne-jo mujhse zyada dhyaan rakhte hain inn sab cheezon ka-mujhe bola tha ki yeh line bolne se pehle, usse bahut pehle aap cigarette bujha dijiyega. Aur na aapke mooh se dhuaan niklega, na hi screen pe kahin dhuaan hoga, and nahi aapke haath mein cigarette hogi. "
Also Read: Madhavan Says Fans From Dubai To Fly Down To India To Watch Dhurandhar 2
"Kyunki yeh humaare liye bahut hi pavitra aur paak hai. (There`s a slight misunderstanding. I am absolutely certain that before this scene, before saying this line, Aditya Dhar ji—who pays more attention to all these things than I do—told me to put out the cigarette well before delivering this line. So, no smoke would come out of your mouth, nor would there be any smoke on screen, and you wouldn`t have a cigarette in your hand. Because this is extremely sacred and pure for us.)"
R. Madhavan further explained, "Toh maine bakayda cigarette bujha diya tha. Aur agar aap scene dekhenge, aapko dikhega nahi ki mere mooh se dhuaan nikal rahi hai, na frame mein kahin dhuaan hai, na woh scene end hone tak dhuaan ka naamo-nishaan kahin pe hai."
"Kyunki yeh humein pata hai, hum kisi ka dil dukhaana nahi chahte. Hum pure Sikh community ke saath hain. Aur hum unka bahut aadar karte hain. Main apne har film release ke pehle Golden Temple jaata hoon, yeh sabko pata hai. Humara yakeen maniye. ("So, I had properly extinguished the cigarette. And if you watch the scene, you won`t see any smoke coming out of my mouth, nor is there smoke anywhere in the frame, nor is there any trace of smoke until the end of that scene. Because we know this - we don`t want to hurt anyone`s feelings. We stand with the entire Sikh community. And we respect them a lot. I go to the Golden Temple before every film release of mine; everyone knows this. Please trust our belief"), he noted.
Madhavan concluded the video by assuring there was never any intention to hurt any religious sentiments.
He reiterated that it could`ve been possible that he was holding a cigarette in the beginning of the scene – only because Ajay Sanyal was shown as a chain smoker. But after that, there was no more of it throughout.
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