'Dhurandhar 2 Can Permanently Destroy Pan-India South Films,' Says RGV

As Dhurandhar: The Revenge prepares for its theatrical release on March 19, Ram Gopal Varma has made a bold claim about the film. The filmmaker believes the sequel could change the way mainstream Indian cinema is made.

Ram Gopal Varma Hails Dhurandhar

RGV did not hold back in his praise and wrote, "DHURANDAR 2 is an ASTEROID which might end the DINOSAUR era @AdityaDharFilms DHURANDHAR 2 has high chances of completely and permanently obliterating the pan india south films movement by establishing a brand new benchmark with ultra realistic making, genuine character depths etc that actually engage the audience's brain while still delivering a raw visceral impact."

He further suggested that the film could drastically alter audience expectations, adding, "Once audiences taste this new standard, every film currently under production in the previous masala style can become instantly endangered."

In a longer note, RGV argued that big-budget entertainers relying on scale and spectacle may struggle in the wake of Dhurandhar: The Revenge. "Those ultra-big budgeted masala projects that are already deep into shooting or post-production will have an uphill task in competing with the new standards set. Producers who bet entire empires on the same previous formulaic making might face empty theatres and career-ending losses because of the high costs involved and the audience taste converting to the international standards," he claimed.

He went on to critique formula-driven filmmaking and star-led spectacles. 

"Directors married to the belief of 'mass + vfx + scale + gravity-defying stunts = guaranteed hit will have no choice but to reinvent themselves by studying the Dhurandhar audiences. Superstars who were depending upon their god like statuses resting solely on mindless hero worship will stand exposed in front of highly effective characters who grow to be heroes in the context of the story rather than already being hailed as heroes from frame one," RGV wrote.

Concluding his dramatic statement, the filmmaker described the film as a seismic shift for the industry. 

"DHURANDHAR 2 is not just another film coming on March 19th. It can be an ASTEROID STRIKE that might end the DINOSAUR ERA of filmmaking, which is full of sheer volume, fake heroism, and the so-called masala treatment. The goal post has been changed, and so if the direction of the kick does not change, it might not only break the leg, but it might lose the limb," he concluded.

DHURANDAR 2 is an ASTEROID which might end the DINOSAUR era @AdityaDharFilms DHURANDHAR 2 has high chances of completely and permanently obliterating the pan india south films movement by establishing a brand new benchmark with ultra realistic making , genuine character depths…

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 24, 2026

About Dhurandhar: The Revenge

The film, directed by Aditya Dhar, serves as a follow-up to the 2025 blockbuster Dhurandhar and dives deeper into the backstory of Ranveer Singh's character, Hamza.

However, Dhurandhar: The Revenge will not have a clear run at the box office. It is set to clash with Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups, headlined by Yash and directed by Geetu Mohandas. 

The pan-India project also features Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasanth, and Tara Sutaria.

ALSO READ: How Ranveer And Yash's Dhurandhar 2 And Toxic Heroes Are Same Same But Different

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Ranveer Singh Goes To Karnataka High Court Against FIR For Kantara Mimicry

Ranveer Singh has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash an FIR registered against him in Bengaluru over his alleged gestures depicting Daiva from Rishab Shetty's Kantara 2.

The matter is now expected to be heard by the court.

About The Case Against Ranveer Singh

In January 2026, an FIR was registered against Ranveer Singh at the High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru over allegations that he had insulted Hindu religious sentiments and the Chavundi Daiva tradition of coastal Karnataka.

The case was booked under Sections 196, 299, and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The complaint was lodged by Prashanth Methal, a 46-year-old advocate based in Bengaluru.

As per the FIR, the alleged incident took place during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa on November 28, 2025. The complainant claimed that Ranveer Singh made objectionable remarks and performed a stage act which, according to him, mocked and demeaned sacred elements of the Daiva tradition.

The FIR noted that Methal said he had come across a video of the performance on December 2, 2025, while browsing Instagram at the Karnataka State Billiards Association in Bengaluru. The video had reportedly been shared by an account named Brief Chaat.

In his complaint, Methal alleged that Ranveer Singh mimicked expressions linked to Panjurli and Guliga Daiva in what he described as a crude and disrespectful manner. He further claimed that the actor referred to the sacred Chavundi Daiva as a "female ghost".

The complaint stated that Chavundi Daiva is worshipped as a guardian deity symbolising divine feminine energy in the coastal belt of Karnataka and is held in deep reverence by devotees. Referring to the deity as a ghost, the complainant alleged, amounted to a serious distortion that hurt religious sentiments and caused significant mental distress among followers of the Daiva tradition.

The FIR further alleged that the act had been deliberate and malicious, with the intention of outraging religious feelings and fostering enmity within society.

The matter was referred to the 1st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Bengaluru and was scheduled to be heard on April 8.

Earlier, a private complaint had been filed by the advocate on December 27, 2025, before the Additional Judicial Magistrate in Bengaluru. On January 23, 2026, the court had directed the High Grounds Police Station to register an FIR under Section 175(3) of the BNS. Following the court's direction, the police registered the FIR.

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Bengaluru Lake Crisis: No Potable Water In India's 'Silicon Valley'

According to data published by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, water quality analysis conducted across 147 monitoring locations between April and November 2025 shows that not a single lake in the city consistently met potable or safe bathing standards.

No Lake Achieves Safe Water Quality

The report categorised lakes under standard water quality classes:

Class A: Potable without treatment

Class B: Safe for bathing

Class D & E: Severely polluted, unsuitable for human use

Shockingly, no lake achieved Class A or Class B status during the monitoring period. Most lakes were classified under D or E, indicating heavy contamination.

Iconic Lakes Among Worst Affected

Several of Bengaluru's most well-known lakes recorded disturbing pollution levels:

Bellandur Lake: Rated E in April, briefly improved to D during summer, before slipping back to E by November.

Varthur Lake: Fluctuated between D and E categories.

Hebbal Lake: Maintained D status for most months before deteriorating to E.

Other severely affected lakes include Madiwala, Kaikondanahalli, Kundalahalli, and Ulsoor (all D/E), while Sankey Tank maintained a D rating. The report notes that the Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura zones emerged as the worst-hit regions, largely due to rapid urbanisation and untreated waste discharge.

Experts Warn of 'Ecological Emergency'

Environmental activist Madhuri Subbarao, co-founder of Friends of Lakes, said the findings confirm long-standing concerns.

"Many lakes in Bengaluru are on the brink of ecological collapse," Ms Subbarao said. "Today, we cannot point to a single lake with healthy water quality, stable ecology, or safe biodiversity. Most lakes fall below acceptable standards, with water unfit even for animal consumption."

She called for urgent government intervention, including the formation of a dedicated lake restoration task force, the scientific identification of pollution sources, and stronger collaboration with citizen groups.

Summer Water Stress Likely to Worsen

The findings come at a critical time as Bengaluru prepares for peak summer, a period when dependence on groundwater and tanker supplies traditionally rises.

With the city's primary surface water bodies now officially declared unfit for use, residents face a mounting challenge in securing safe water as temperatures climb.

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Trump Hikes Global Tariffs From 10% To 15% Day After Big Supreme Court Order

US President Donald Trump on Saturday raised the global tariffs from 10 per cent to 15 per cent after a big setback in the Supreme Court on Friday.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level."

"During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again - GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter," he added.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

In a major setback for US President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Friday struck down sweeping tariffs imposed by his administration, ruling that the president had exceeded his authority by using emergency powers meant for national crises. The court said Trump relied on a law designed for national emergencies to justify broad trade tariffs, which judges concluded went beyond presidential powers.

Why Did Supreme Court Strike Down Trump Tariffs?

The administration had imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law used during extraordinary national emergencies. The Supreme Court ruled that the use of this law to impose wide-ranging trade tariffs was an overreach of executive authority.

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Karnataka BJP MLA Chandru Lamani Arrested In Bribery Case

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Chandru Lamani, representing the Shirahatti Assembly constituency, was caught red handed and taken into custody by the Karnataka Lokayukta on Saturday in connection with an alleged bribery case in Laxmeshwar town of Karnataka's Gadag district, the official statement by the Lokayukta said.

The development is seen as a setback to the BJP, which targeted the Congress-led government in the state for demanding bribes, commissions from contractors and not releasing their payment.

The Karnataka Lokayukta said that a successful trap has been laid down by Gadag Karnataka Lokayukta Police under the Section 7 (a) read with 7 (A) of the Prevention of the Corruption Act.

The accused is secured and further investigation is progress, the Lokayukta added.

The Lokayukta team caught BJP MLA Lamani while he was allegedly accepting Rs 5 lakh from a contractor as part of a larger bribe demand.

His government personal assistant, Manjunath Valmiki, and private assistant, Guru Lamani, were also detained and questioned during the operation, the official statement by the Lokayukta added.

According to Karnataka Lokayukta, MLA Chandru Lamani had allegedly demanded Rs 11 lakh from a Class One contractor, identified as Vijay Poojar, in connection with the allotment of a contract under the Minor Irrigation Department.

The bribe was reportedly linked to roadside wall construction work of retaining wall on both sides of the road, Lokayukta officials said.

The operation was conducted under the leadership of Dharwad Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Siddalingappa.

Officials are said to have laid a trap and apprehended the MLA Chandru Lamani and his aides while they were accepting Rs 5 lakh as part of the alleged deal.

Following the trap, Lokayukta officials also carried out a search at the Balaji Hospital in Laxmeshwar town, which is owned by MLA Chandru Lamani.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

More details are yet to emerge regarding the incident.

Madal Virupakshappa, former Karnataka BJP MLA, was arrested in a bribery case in 2023.

The Lokayukta Police had tracked BJP MLA to Channagiri town in Davanagere district, where he was to address a public meeting.

MLA Virupakshappa allegedly evaded police before being intercepted at a toll gate near Bengaluru.

His anticipatory bail was rejected by the Karnataka High Court.

The BJP MLA was named as the main accused in the bribery scam in Karnataka State Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).

MLA Virupakshappa was named the main accused in a corruption case lodged by the Karnataka Lokayukta after his son was caught taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

In the raids that followed, Lokayukta authorities recovered Rs 6.1 crore in cash from his Sanjay Nagar residence and Rs 2.2 crore from his office.

A total of Rs 8.23 crore in cash, a huge quantity of gold and silver ornaments, and large investments in land in Karnataka were uncovered.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Tilak To Be Dropped For South Africa Clash? Suryakumar Gives Clear Answer

Tilak Varma's scrappy batting in all four league games of the T20 World Cup hasn't gone unnoticed but skipper Suryakumar Yadav dismissed suggestions about replacing him, as the role that he is performing is on directive of the team management. Tilak, whose career strike-rate is 141 plus, has seen it dipping to 120s as he has been found struggling against slow bowlers on tracks where the ball is gripping a tad more. Unlike his skipper Suryakumar, who also drops anchor at times, Tilak hasn't been able to switch gears with only 11 boundaries and three sixes to his credit across four games.

"I mean I have told him, the team management has told him that he has to bat that way. If one wicket is down, then he is definitely, he can go and have his own game in the powerplay.

"But as soon as two wickets are down, then he has to take a little bit of backseat, get a partnership again, get to the 10th over and then we have enough firepower to continue and take on the bowling," the Indian skipper explained the rationale behind the approach although it wasn't exactly convincing.

But Suryakumar said that even Tilak has set higher standards for himself.

"Definitely I am sure he must not be happy with how he is batting right now, I am sure. He must be and he has practised a lot as well in the last 2-3 practice sessions. But I don't have any concern regarding him. He has been delivering for India at No. 3 really well and I am very confident that he will do it better." Suryakumar literally laughed off suggestions that there could be a chance of replacing Tilak with Sanju Samson.

"You mean, I should make him (Samson) play for Tilak?," he laughed. "It's going well in powerplay. We're making 40-50 runs. That's normal cricket. Now we've played so well in bilaterals. It happens. We also have expectations from ourself. Expectation to make 220, 240, 250," he said.

"But wickets are a little different here. The four wickets we have played on so far were a little different and challenging. Off-spinners were not bowling earlier but are bowling now. So we have started preparation for that and hopefully we will tackle it as we start our Super 8 journey." However Suryakumar is very satisfied with his bowling unit which keeps him in the game even during par-scores like 175-180.

"I do take a lot of pride in my bowling unit. I know that on a given day, if we ever make 170, 175, or 180 because of the high risk, high reward game we are trying to play, then we have a good bowling attack which can save the match, it can win that game," he said.

"Look, I never thought that this team will make scores like 250, 270, 220, 230. But the way we're playing cricket now, you'll see in the future, if you see a start, then after that, everyone bats with the same template. But the day you don't get a start, that day you have to think about what the team needs." There could be dew here on Sunday but Suryakumar feels toss is an over-rated concept right now.

"I think, what I feel is toss is little bit overrated now. If you see this tournament also, lot of teams are winning the toss and also batting first in different venues. We got to bat first in all the four games. I lost, I think, three tosses out of four.

"So, if you bat well in the first innings, even if there is dew, you still have an opportunity to go out and defend if you have confidence in your bowling unit. I don't think toss will matter a lot, but still we will see tomorrow what we want to do," he said.

One question that was certain to crop up was 'Law of Averages' catching up with a well-oiled team and Suryakumar didn't want to entertain those thoughts.

"We don't think about it that much. Like I said, we try to stay in the present. We win so many games, but that is history now. And if you think about which game you're playing on that given day, if you think about that, it's not easy, it's difficult.

"Because sometimes when you play good cricket, then from here and there, like you said, law of average, you can hear the voice. But, it's okay, but we try to avoid that thing a little bit," the skipper concluded.

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Watch: Gurugram Man, 31, Shares Rs 2.44 Lakh Monthly Expense Breakdown

A 31-year-old corporate professional from Gurugram has sparked online discussion after sharing his monthly expenditure of over Rs 2.4 lakh. In a now-viral video titled ‘Monthly spends of corporate gym rat living in Gurgaon,' Gagan Saini detailed his January outgoings, ranging from rent and groceries to long-term investments.

Saini detailed that he was living in a 2.5 BHK flat in the Millennium City, with the rent coming around Rs 53,500. He said, although the rent was not cheap, his priorities had shifted post-marriage and comfort, location and safety came first. As for cook, maid and car cleaning, he was shelling out Rs 8,450 per month.

Being a regular at the gym, Saini said he was spending Rs 8,682 on membership and supplements, which also inflated his grocery costs to Rs 15,927 as he preferred to cook most of the meals at home. The homemade meals greatly reduced his eating-out tendencies, which meant that the dine-out bill stood at Rs 3,161.

Saini added that he was renting most of the furniture in his flat at a monthly cost of Rs 18,926, while home decor to make the space feel cosy set him back by Rs 4,848. Wi-fi and other OTT subscriptions increased the expenses by another Rs 1,728, and petrol cost him Rs 6,000.

"Home setup is still in progress so rented fridge and washing machine for now, but yes, got the recliner. Small home and kitchen touches to make the space feel like ours," he wrote.

As a content creator, Saini said he spent Rs 4,022 on buying some equipment and professional software subscriptions, whilst investing Rs 1,20,000. In the end, his total expenses for the month of January came to around Rs 2,44,244.

Check The Viral Post Here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gagan Saini (@03gagan)

Also Read | Viral Baby Monkey Punch Finally Accepted By His Troop With Heartwarming Hug

Social Media Reacts

As of the last update, the video had garnered over 171,000 views, as social media users joked that Saini's monthly expenses far exceeded their annual salaries.

"This is the annual package at our college," said one user while another added: "Bro, the amount you have spent is not even the salary of most people."

A third commented: "Apart from rent, everything else is pretty reasonable, good to know you are spending a good amount on your diet and stay."

A fourth said: "Seeing your rent made my heart sink. I feel lucky that I don't have to pay any rent. Rest everything is good."

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