- Aditya Dhar praised costume designer Smriti Chauhan for her work on Dhurandhar: The Revenge
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge crossed ₹1000 crore at the domestic box office
- Smriti Chauhan created over 10,000 costumes and 1,000 Pathanis in the first 30 days
Aditya Dhar is currently riding high on the success of Dhurandhar: The Revenge. The Ranveer Singh-starrer has crossed the ₹1000 crore mark at the domestic box office.
As a way of celebrating the talent behind the scenes, the filmmaker has been sharing heartfelt notes on Instagram. From casting director Mukesh Chhabra to makeup and prosthetics artist Preetisheel Singh, Aditya has already penned appreciation posts for several key members of the team.
Now, in his latest post, the director turned the spotlight on costume designer Smriti Chauhan. On Friday, Aditya Dhar shared a series of BTS pictures featuring himself, Smriti and Ranveer Singh working together on the sets of the film.
Aditya began his note by recalling his initial conversations with Smriti about the project. He wrote, “Dearest Smriti, I still remember one of our very first conversations, when we spoke about how Jaskirat starts with a hint of colour and how, by the end, Hamza is almost swallowed by black. How, somewhere along the way, the colour quietly leaves his life without drawing attention to it. At that point, it was just a thought, a tiny, slightly mad detailing idea I threw at you. And you just held on to it.”
Highlighting how the costume designer approached the film with complete honesty and no preconceived notions, he added, “While you kept saying ‘Adi Sir, I don't know if I'm the right person for this,' I was sitting there thinking, ‘This is exactly why you are.' You didn't come with baggage. You didn't come with a fixed ‘style' of what this world should look like. You came with honesty and that dangerous thing called ZIDD. And then you went and did what you do best, you over-delivered in the most ridiculous, unbelievable way.”
Praising Smriti Chauhan's sheer dedication and attention to detail, Aditya Dhar further wrote, “Who stitches 10000 costumes for a film and close to 1000 Pathanis in first 30 days and still worries about the detailing of a buttons on a junior artist's cuff? Who creates 250+ looks for Hamza and still loses sleep over whether the ring on his little finger feels emotionally correct? Who manages thousands of accessories over a 1.5 year shoot and still shows up every day like it's day one? Only you,”
The director continued, “What you built wasn't just costumes. You built a world. A language. An identity that breathes through every single frame of Dhurandhar. And the most beautiful part? From a space that once felt unfamiliar, you created something so distinct that people are now following your design styles everywhere. That's not talent alone. That's courage. That's ZIDD.”
Aditya concluded his note with gratitude, writing, “I'm just really, really grateful I got to witness that journey up close. And I'm even more grateful that I got you on this film. Love and Luck, forever!”
Smriti Chauhan shared Aditya Dhar's post on Instagram Stories. She thanked the director by writing, “Aditya Sir! Aapka tahey dil se shukriya! Aur agar aap na hotey toh yeh main yahaan na hoti. Please sharminda na karein. Always rooting for us.”
https://www.instagram.com/stories/smriti.schauhan/?hl=en
Dhurandhar: The Revenge is the sequel to the 2025 hit Dhurandhar. The film, released on March 19, also features Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan and Arjun Rampal in key roles.