Priyadarshan reveals protégé ‘Dhurandhar’ director Aditya Dhar wanted to pursue cricket, but the son of top cricketer got selected |

Celebrated director Priyadarshan couldn’t hide his pride for his protégé Aditya Dhar, reminiscing about Dhar’s formative years as a talented dialogue writer for hits like ‘Aakrosh’ and ‘Tezz’. Priyadarshan shared that it was the film ‘Gardish’ that inspired Dhar to pivot from his cricket aspirations to the world of filmmaking.

Priyadarshan recently penned a note for his former student and ‘Dhurandhar’ director, Aditya Dhar. And recently, the veteran filmmaker talked about how proud he feels about his former student. Priyadarshan also shared that Dhar has written dialogues for movies as well. Let’s learn more about it.

Priyadarshan shares that Aditya Dhar is loyal

According to Mid-Day, Priyadarshan expressed that he doesn’t hide about how “proud” he is of Aditya Dhar for ‘Dhurandhar’ success. He said, “Do you know who wrote the dialogues for the Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna-starrer ‘Aakrosh’ (2010)? It was Aditya. He also wrote the dialogues for Ajay, Anil Kapoor, and Kangana Ranaut-starrer ‘Tezz’ (2012).”

During the candid conversation, the veteran filmmaker added that Aditya Dhar is one of the best disciples and assistants he ever had. He added, “Aditya is one of my loyal boys; he takes my blessings for everything.”Priyadarshan revealed that he watched the Ranveer Singh-led movie recently and “loved it.”

Priyadarshan talks about Aditya Dhar’s first love—cricket.

During the interview, Priyadarshan shared that Robin Bhatt, who was the screenwriter of ‘Aakrosh’, introduced him to Aditya. Later, when they were shooting for ‘Tezz’ in Scotland, Dhar told the veteran filmmaker that he was a budding cricketer.He said, “Aditya told me that he was a budding cricketer in the under-19 team, but he didn’t get in because the son of a top Indian cricketer beat him to it.”As Dhar was “depressed,” his friends took him to watch Priyadarshan’s film ‘Gardish’ in 1993. The ‘Khatta Meetha’ director added, “That day he decided to quit cricket and become a filmmaker.”

More about Priyadarshan

The veteran filmmaker is working on his next project, ‘Bhoot Bangla’, starring Akshay Kumar in the lead, and ‘Haiwaan’, which features Khiladi Kumar and Saif Ali Khan.

More about ‘Dhurandhar’

Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film has raked in over Rs 1240 crore at the box office globally. The movie was released in theaters on December 5, 2025. ThPartwo is set to hit cinemas on March 19, 2026.