Kunal Kohli to Ranveer Singh's critics: Don't judge an actor by success or failure

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli has said actor Ranveer Singh should not be judged by the success or failure of his films, arguing that no actor is insulated from a flop. Kohli spoke about Singh and his comeback after a dry spell when the actor was practically written off.

The remarks come a month after Kohli's Dhurandhar review triggered wide discussion online, with the filmmaker saying that the "biggest directors" had hoped Singh's film would flop. In an interview with NDTV, Kohli said box-office outcomes do not define performers and that ups and downs are part of every career.

Kunal Kohli explains that failure spares no star

Kohli said, "There is one thing that social media fans and producers and everybody needs to understand. There is nobody, whether it is the biggest of stars, who is saved from a flop film. Everybody is going to get one. You cannot not have a flop film. It is not possible. And it happens to every single actor. That does not define you. And that's going to happen to an actor, producer, and director."

"Ranveer Singh is going to give a hit film again, and he's going to give a flop film again. He's going to do everything. That's just the way it goes. It's not a big deal. Get over it. Is it a good film? Yes, it is. Move on. Accept it's a flop and move on. And you learn so much from it," he added.

Calling Ranveer Singh "a wonderful actor," Kohli said, "Some of the scenes he's done in Dhurandhar are absolutely brilliant. There are scenes he's done in films that haven't worked, which are absolutely brilliant."

"So how does it matter? Don't judge an actor by the success or failure of a film – that just shows your weakness as a film viewer or filmgoer if you're going to sit and judge people just based on box office," he added.

Kunal Kohli's review for Dhurandhar

Referring to his review of Dhurandhar, Kohli had earlier shared a clip on Instagram and said, "Congratulations Aditya Dhar, Ranveer Singh, and Jio Studios. You all have earned 100 crores+ a day, twice. Dhurandhar has, of course, become the biggest hit of Indian cinema, which is wonderful."

He continued, "The important parts of the film that I would like to highlight about this film and what it has done: it has shown us the true potential of the Indian box office. Phenomenal. It has shown us that desi subjects and stories work like nothing else. Let's not be influenced by western subjects and ideas; let's make desi films."

He also said, "Heroes ko mard hona chahiye (Heroes need to be men). Hindi films ke heroes ko mard hona chahiye (Hindi film heroes must be manly). Not some lost, confused boy. That's what Saiyaara was. That's what Dhurandhar is. Look at the numbers. Genuine collection," and added, "Fake collections kar ke bhi you are not doing 100 crores for the entire lifetime collection of your film. This is doing 100 crores a day with genuine collections. Thank you Aditya Dhar, Ranveer Singh, Jio Studios for showing us the way and the potential of our cinema."

Director Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar film series also features actors Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt, Manav Gohil, Danih Pandor and others in key roles.

The 2026 sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, was theatrically released on March 19, 2026.