Aditya Dhar reveals he was reluctant to work with this Dhurandhar crew member: ‘She’s arrogant, too expensive…’

FIlmmaker Aditya Dhar is taking a trip up shoot down remembering lane as he revisits his journeying on the Dhurandhar dealership, led by Ranveer Singh. In a candid confession, the director has shared that he was initially reluctant to work with a particular crew member after hearing they “arrogant” and “too expensive” feedback.Aditya’s special note for Dhurandhar crew memberAditya took to Instagram to pen a note for Preetisheel Singh, the makeup and prosthetics artist who worked on Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar 2. He admitted that although he had come across a few negative remarks about her, which initially made him hesitant to collaborate, his reservations quickly disappeared once he met her in person.“Here’s to Preetisheel, my Sardarni sister from Pathankot.
Mera Sher. When I first heard her name, I’ll be honest, I was hesitant. There were all these opinions floating around, “she’s arrogant,” “she’s too expensive,” “she only does prestige projects.” And then I met her. In that one meeting, all of it just fell apart,” Aditya wrote.The director continued, “It reminded me of something I’ve learned the hard way in this industry: never build your truth on borrowed opinions.
More often than not, they come from a place that has nothing to do with the person you’re about to meet. What I found in Preeti was not just an artist of extraordinary ability but a deeply warm, grounded and fiercely loving human being.”“The laughter we shared in the middle of madness, the long conversations about life, the endless hours spent obsessing over every character, those are memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life. There was something about her presence, that beautiful, reassuring smile, that made even the most impossible days feel manageable. And then there was her constant voice in my ear, lifting me up in ways I didn’t even know I needed,” he added. According to Aditya, what she and her team pulled off on this film is nothing “short of extraordinary”. He wrote, “When most of the crew was waking up, they were already on set. And when everyone wrapped, they were still there. Running on barely 2–3 hours of sleep, day after day, with a kind of relentless focus that you rarely witness. No complaints. No noise. Just pure commitment to the vision. There were more than a hundred character designs across both parts (some extremely complicated ones like Nawab Shafiq and Bade Saab). Thousands of faces shaped, aged, transformed. An army of nearly 20,000 junior artists brought to life through detail, texture and truth. But beyond the numbers, what stays with me is the intent.”Aditya notes for Preeti, it was never about “looks.” “It was always about people. About making sure every character, no matter how small, felt real, lived-in and honest. She treated each face with respect, as if it had a story worth telling. That’s rare,” he added.Aditya continued the praise in his comment section, revealing that Preeti is not just my HOD.“She’s family. A constant in my life, in cinema and beyond. Preeti, thank you for standing by me, for believing in me when I couldn’t see it myself and for pouring your heart into Dhurandhar the way you did. And this is just the beginning for us. Love, always,” he mentioned.Dhurandhar makes it bigAt the moment, Aditya is basking in the appreciation coming his way for Dhurandhar. The first part was released in December 2025 and became a blockbuster, grossing over ₹1300 crore worldwide. The second part, titled Dhurandhar The Revenge, was released on March 19. It took a bumper opening of ₹145 crore and has so far collected over ₹1047 crore in India and over ₹1600 crore worldwide.Dhurandhar focused on Ranveer Singh’s character, Hamza, infiltrating the terror networks based in Lyari. The film’s sequel delves into the origins of Ranveer Singh’s character, Hamza aka Jaskirat Singh Rangi, revealing the motivations behind his mission. The film also takes the story forward, showing him taking control of the power dynamics in Lyari while working to dismantle a terror network in Pakistan that threatens India.The spy thriller stars Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, R. Madhavan and Sanjay Dutt in key roles.