King Director Siddharth Anand Slams Zakir Khan Over ‘Jealousy’ Remark On Dhurandhar 2: You've To Be Duffer...

Filmmaker Siddharth Anand has responded online after comedian Zakir Khan suggested that Mumbai’s Juhu-Bandra directors felt jealous of the success of Dhurandhar 2. The exchange, sparked by comments at the Chetak Screen Awards, has triggered a wider debate on social media about Bollywood success, envy and industry power centres.

ZAKIR KHAN'S DHURANDHAR 2 'JEALOUS' REMARK IRKS SIDDHARTH ANAND

Siddharth, known for Pathaan and War, appeared to respond without naming Zakir by defending filmmakers based in the Juhu-Bandra belt. Siddharth wrote, "Juhu-Bandra peeps have given all ATBB's since the past 50 years. You have to be a real duffer to undermine their contribution." The post quickly spread, as users tried to decode the acronym.

Curious viewers asked what “ATBB” meant, leading one user to consult Grok. Grok replied, "ATBB" means "All Time Blockbuster." Many readers took Siddharth’s line about a “real duffer” as an indirect swipe at Zakir, whose awards-ceremony comments focused on Dhurandhar’s success and on how filmmakers from Juhu-Bandra had supposedly reacted to the film’s strong reception.

At the Chetak Screen Awards, Zakir had said that public praise did not reflect true feelings within the industry. Zakir stated, "No matter how many congratulatory posts you put up, how many stories you share, how many interviews where you say, my favourite film, the truth is that everyone is burning because of Dhurandhar." Zakir followed this with another sharp line about geography and resentment.

Describing the reaction to Dhurandhar, Zakir added, "Bombs may have exploded in Lyari, but the smoke has risen from Bandra to Juhu." After Siddharth’s response, one social media user backed the director’s view, commenting, "Hahahaha!! 100% And these are the same Juhu - Bandra peeps who ran this industry for decades and gave employment to millions of people including these new duffers."

AMEESHA PATEL ALSO SLAMS ZAKIR KHAN FOR HIS COMMENT

Actor Ameesha Patel also weighed in by criticising Zakir’s remark and stressing the track record of major stars. Ameesha posted on X, "DUDE—Stop spreading NEGATIVITY! The film industry has valued and respected DHURANDHAR! Superstars like SRK, SALMAN, SUNNY, HRITHIK, AJAY et have given not just 1 but 25 plus mega hits and will continue to do so. CHILL-GADAR bahut saalon se sabne already machai hain aur aage bhi machaayenge."

The exchanges underline tensions between stand-up commentary and film industry narratives around success.