Salman Khan on Ranveer in Dhurandhar: Restraint Is the Real Win
On Koffee With Karan 9, Salman Khan explains why Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar performance shows an actor secure enough to hold back.
Karan Johar loves a rapid-fire trap, but Salman Khan refused to walk into this one. On Koffee With Karan Season 9, the superstar was asked to choose between Ranbir Kapoor in Animal and Ranveer Singh in Dhurandhar. His answer became a short masterclass in why some performances should not be turned into a contest.
The couch moment
The exchange happened during a rapid-fire round. Karisma Kapoor joined Karan Johar on the couch to steer the questions, and the room had two obvious headline options: pick Ranbir or pick Ranveer.
Salman chose a third route. He told Karan and Karisma that the two performances are built differently, so ranking them would miss the point. Quoted by Bollywood Hungama, he said: “Two different kinds of performance. You cannot compare any of them. Both are fantastic actors.”
When Karisma nudged him for a less diplomatic answer, Salman clarified his reasoning instead of changing it. “One has got a tremendous amount of energy. One has got a tremendous amount of intensity. Both have different styles of acting.”
What Salman saw in Dhurandhar
Salman then turned specifically to Ranveer Singh in Dhurandhar, and that is where the comment became more interesting. Ranveer is known for an explosive, pitch-high screen presence, but Salman argued that the role demanded the opposite.
According to Salman, Ranveer had to control all of his energy for the part. The actor who usually works on a larger-than-life register had to pull back, and that restraint is what made the performance land.
The key line for Ranveer fans is this: “For an actor, that’s a huge amount of insecurity that he did not have in the film,” Salman said. “He is very secure as an actor and in that role in Dhurandhar.” Karan Johar’s reaction was short and approving: “Well said.”
Three takeaways from Salman’s answer
- He declined to rank Animal and Dhurandhar, calling the comparison unfair to both actors.
- He framed the difference as energy versus intensity, not better versus worse.
- He read Ranveer’s controlled turn as proof of security, not a lack of spark.
Why this lands differently
For the audience, the moment works because it comes from a star who has built a career on a very direct screen persona. Salman rarely positions himself as a technical evaluator of performance, so his note about restraint carries extra weight.
It also reframes the conversation around Dhurandhar. Instead of asking whether Ranveer can do serious, quiet work, the takeaway is that he already did it and stayed secure enough to shrink rather than dominate. That is the kind of co-sign that moves a performance from “good” to “worth a rewatch.”
The rapid-fire segment could have produced a winner. It produced something more useful instead: a reminder that range is measured by what an actor withholds, not just what they let loose.
Source: Bollywood Hungama
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