Following the highly anticipated teaser release of Yash’s Toxic, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has officially set the stage for a massive box office showdown. In a series of unfiltered social media posts on January 13, 2026, Varma dubbed the upcoming March 19 clash between Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic as “#Dhuroxic”, calling it a “Judgement Day” that will force Indian audiences to choose between two clashing cinematic worlds.
The director, who has been an outspoken champion of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a lengthy, provocative assessment of the two films.
The ‘Dhuroxic’ weigh in
Varma’s post quickly went viral for its sharp contrast between Ranveer Singh’s grounded spy thriller and Yash’s stylized action epic. He wrote:
“#Dhuroxic on March 19th will be the ultimate clash between ultra realistic cinema and ultra unrealistic cinema. D is built on cause , leading to effect and consequence. It reveals that violence has moral, psychological, and political foundations. The Characters act because they must, not because they will look cool. D Believes the audience is intelligent whereas, In T Style precedes logic. Violence exists to display attitude, not necessity. T assumes the audience wants stimulation, not emotional engagement like D
D respects grim reality. T sells fantasy dressed as seriousness. D unsettles, T tries to impress. D’s Protagonist is human – He can fail, misjudge, bleed, age. His power is limited and contextual. T’s Protagonist is born bulletproof. The story bends backwards to protect his “ultra cool factor” – The world exists to worship him…”
The post continued with Ram Gopal Varma hailing March 19 as the “Dhuroxic judgement day”
“One is cinema that cuts into flesh. The other is cinema that poses for the camera . #Dhuroxic won’t be just another clash; it’ll be a collision between truth and styling and possibly something bigger. #Dhuroxic could mark the beginning of the end of hero worship ushered in by the pan India biggies from the south.
OR IT CAN BE VICE VERSA..THAT ONLY GOD and AUDIENCE WILL KNOW
Let’s find out on MARCH 19 th the #Dhuroxic JUDGEMENT DAY”
This isn’t the first time Varma has taunted the Kannada superstar’s project. On New Year’s Eve, he playfully tweeted, “DHURANDHAR 2’S BITE will be TOXIC,” and previously claimed that the first Dhurandhar (which has crossed Rs 1,100 crore worldwide) was the “fireball” that kicked back the “Southie invasion” of Bollywood.
The “Women Empowerment” twist
This critique is especially interesting given Varma’s earlier reaction to the Toxic teaser on January 8. While he now labels the film a “massage of escapism,” he previously hailed director Geetu Mohandas for her fearless approach to the action genre.
On his X handle, he shared:
“After seeing the @TheNameIsYash starring trailer of #Toxic I have no doubt that @GeethuMohandas_ is the ultimate symbol of Women Empowerment .. No Male director is Man enough in comparison to this Woman .. I still can’t believe she shot this 😳”
While RGV clearly respects the grit it took for a woman to helm such a massive, aggressive project, he remains adamant that the audience must ultimately choose between that “ultra-unrealistic” style and the “truth” of the Dhurandhar sequel. He believes this face-off is more than just a numbers game – it’s a test to see if Indian cinema’s obsession with hero elevation and slow-motion depth is finally starting to fade.