Images of Ranveer smoking while wearing turban in 'Dhurandhar 2' fabricated: Aditya Dhar

Mumbai: Filmmaker Aditya Dhar said the images of Ranveer Singh’s character smoking while wearing a turban are ‘completely untrue’ and fabricated to create mischief.

Dhar also warned that such manipulation of the images will be ‘dealt with firmly’.

The filmmaker, who is basking in the glory of the film’s massive success on the big screen, said he is grateful and indebted to the overwhelming love that ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, the second part of his espionage saga, has received from audiences across the country and the world.

“However, it has come to my attention that certain individuals are circulating manipulated visuals by morphing officially released promotional material using artificial intelligence to create false and misleading narratives. One such fabricated image falsely depicts the character Hamza/Jaskirat smoking while wearing a turban. This is completely untrue and does not form part of the film or any official material released by us. It is a deliberate act of misrepresentation intended to provoke and create mischief,” Dhar said.

The filmmaker’s statement comes after a police complaint was filed against the makers and the actor for the image, which shows Ranveer Singh’s character smoking while wearing a turban.

Dhar stated that he wanted to make it ‘unequivocally’ that he holds the highest respect for the Sikh community. “And every portrayal in the film has been handled with utmost sensitivity, dignity and responsibility. Any attempt to suggest otherwise through any doctored content is malicious and dishonest. I urge audiences to rely only on official content and watch the film as it is intended and not fall prey to AI-generated misinformation being circulated with ulterior motives,” he said.

A Mumbai-based Sikh organisation had objected to the images of Ranveer’s character smoking while in a turban and also a scene where R Madhavan’s character recites verses from Guru Granth Sahib, which they said happens while he is smoking.

Madhavan issued a clarification to say that Dhar was very careful during the filming of the scene and his character puts out the cigarette before saying those lines.