Bollywood actor Yami Gautam Dhar, whose latest movie ‘Dasvi’ was released on Netflix on Thursday, April 7, 2020, has taken to Twitter to slam the movie critic Anupama Chopra led organisation “Film Companion” over a review of the movie. In a series of Tweets, the Bollywood actor chastised the organisation for dismissing her acting abilities while reviewing ‘Dasvi’, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Yami Gautam Dhar in the lead role.
Before I say anything else, I’d like to say that I usually take constructive criticism in my stride. But when a certain platform keeps trying to pull you down consistently, I felt it necessary to speak up about it. https://t.co/GGczNekBhP pic.twitter.com/wdBYXyv47V
— Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam) April 7, 2022
The actor shared the screenshot of an excerpt from an article published by Film Companion wherein the entertainment journalism platform criticises Yami Gautam Dhar for her performance in the movie. While criticising the movie as “juvenile storytelling”, the platform wrote, “Yami Gautam is no longer the dead girlfriend in Hindi films, but the combative smile is starting to get repetitive.”
Taking offence to the remarks, Yami Gautam Tweeted, “Before I say anything else, I’d like to say that I usually take constructive criticism in my stride. But when a certain platform keeps trying to pull you down consistently, I felt it necessary to speak up about it”.
In her next Tweet, the actor slammed Film Companion for ‘reviewing’ her work solely based on her performance in this particular film, despite the fact that she has given some super hit movies such as ‘A Thursday,’ ‘Bala,’ ‘Uri,’ and so on. “It’s extremely disrespectful!” she lambasted.
“It takes years of hard work for anyone & especially a self-made actor like me to keep proving our mettle again & again with every opportunity. This is what it comes down to from certain reputed portals!” Yami Gautam Dhar added.
She went on to write that it’s heartbreaking because, like many people from the industry she used to look up to Film Companion, but she hasn’t done so in a long time now. “I would request you not to ‘review’ my performance henceforth ! I’ll find grace in that & it’ll be less painful,” Yami said, tearing into the organisation for mocking the actor’s acting skills.
In the film review, Anupama Chopra’s Film Companion has used extremely harsh words to critic Dasvi which the organisation had rated as “the kind of movie that will scold you for cringing at it, or for not leaving your brains at home (which is ironically where it will stream). It positions itself as the sort of low-stakes comedy designed to guilt-trip the viewer for ‘misreading’ humour as jarring mediocrity.”
“It’s like a sanitized Adam Sandler comedy gone wrong, which is saying a lot, because Adam Sandler comedies are wrong to begin with,” wrote Film Companion journalist Rahul Desai, while completely dismissing the movie as one which lacks identity.
Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Dasvi co-starring Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur started streaming on Netflix and Jio Cinema on 7 April, 2022. Abhishek Bachchan has played the role of Ganga Ram Chaudhary the CM of a fictional Harit Pradesh, who is sent to judicial custody for the teacher recruitment scam. While languishing in jail, Ganga Ram Chaudhary, whose schooling stopped after Class 8, decides to give the Standard X (dasvi) examination a shot. Jyoti Deswal (Yami Gautam Dhar), the uncompromising and intrepid superintendent, ultimately helps Chaudhary in his endeavour. The movie has not been receiving very good reviews since its release.
The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri slams film critic Anupama Chopra and her organisation ‘Film Companion’
Notably, prior to this, Film Companion was in the news after Vivek Agnihotri had alleged that Anupama Chopra, the head of Film Companion, was trying to ‘sabotage’ his recent movie – The Kashmir Files.
On February 23, 2022, Agnihotri had Tweeted his allegation against Film Companion head Anupama Chopra that she is playing ‘dirty tricks’ in the background to target his movie. Vivek Agnihotri asked Anupama, calling her Shoorpankha, “If you have any guts, sabotage ‘The Kashmir Files’ openly. Please stop playing dirty tricks from the background. Your only qualification is that you are married to a Producer who despite being a KP (Kashmiri Pandit), stabbed KPs in their back.”
A day later, the national-award-winning director Vivek Agnihotri released a Youtube video exposing the self-proclaimed movie critic’s inherent prejudice against his films. He accused the movie critic Anupama Chopra and her organisation – “Film Companion” of carrying out a concerted campaign against his movie.
Naming certain production houses and producers, including Anupama Chopra’s husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vivek Agnihotri pointed out that these entities have become the establishments of the Bollywood that set the rules and decide on the success of the individuals who enter the industry.
“Only those people who bend before this establishment will survive in the industry. Vivek Agnihotri never bows down to this establishment, never will do. Hence, I have been made to pay a price,” said the director in his video.
In his latest expose, the Bollywood director said that micro-blogging site Twitter recommended him one of the tweets of Film Companion that promoted Deepika Padukone-starrer movie Gehraiyaan. According to Vivek, Anupama Chopra’s organisation has aggressively marketed the movie even after the movie flopped at the box office. The Karan Johar-produced movie has been rejected by the viewers and has also been declared a massive flop.
