Mumbai, April 7 (AHN) Actress Ameesha Patel and director Siddharth Anand, who is known for ‘Pathaan’, ‘War’, and ‘Fighter’, have strongly reacted to comedian Zakir Khan’s remarks on people from the industry who aren’t pleased with the success of the ‘Dhurandhar’.

On Tuesday, Ameesha Patel took to her X, formerly Twitter, as she wrote, “DUDE, Stop spreading NEGATIVITY! The film industry has valued and respected DHURANDHAR! Superstars like SRK, SALMAN, SUNNY, HRITHIK, AJAY, etc. have given not just one but 25-plus mega hits and will continue to do so. CHILL, GADAR bahut saalon se sabne machai hai, aur aage bhi machaayenge”.

During a recent awards show, Zakir, who served as the host, said, “Kitne hi congratulatory posts aap daal dein, kitni hi stories daal dein, kitne hi interview mein aap bol dein ‘my favourite film’, magar sach toh yeh hai ki Dhurandhar se sabki jalti toh hai”.

His comment drew laughter, with many seeing it as a light-hearted jab. However, it has also riled a section of the industry.

Siddharth Anand also took a dim view of the joke, as he wrote, “Juhu - Bandra peeps have given all ATBB’s (all-time blockbusters) since the past 50 years. You have to be a real duffer to undermine their contribution”.

The recent awards ceremony has come under the scanner over a few controversial statements by the show’s hosts.

Elsewhere, during the awards ceremony, another host made a snide remark on Rajpal Yadav pointing to his case of financial irregularities, saying, “Dollar ka rate kitna bhi upar neeche ho jaaye apko paise utne hi vapas lautaane hain (No matter how much the dollar rate fluctuates, you have to return the same amount of money)”.

Rajpal Yadav was convicted in a cheque bounce case by the Delhi High Court. The actor was accused by Murli Projects Pvt Ltd over the default in repayment.

A few weeks ago, the court asked the actor if he had taken the loan to which he replied in positive. The court then told the actor that he was given several chances but he failed to comply.