Rajkummar Rao responds to criticism for poster of Sourav Ganguly biopic Dada: ‘Ones who made it learnt their lesson’

Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao is busy promoting his upcoming courtroom drama Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story, which hits the screens on October 16. He spoke about the Sourav Ganguly biopic, Dada, during the film’s promotions and shared an anecdote about his interaction with the former cricketer. When asked about the film’s poster receiving criticism, Rajkummar remarked that the team has ‘learnt the lesson’ not to rush things.

On Mashable India, Rajkummar opened up about shooting for Dada and said, “I have met Sourav Ganguly many times and have even shot at his home and at Eden Gardens. We were in Kolkata for a while, and I have spent a lot of time with Dada. We have discussed a lot of things. We have also discussed things that I cannot reveal now, because it’s important to know personal things to understand a person's mind. He was very open about it; he laid his life bare before me. We all love him; he’s a legend. He laid the foundation for what the Indian team is today.”

On Sourav’s birthday on July 8, the makers of Dada released a poster that saw Rajkummar recreating an iconic moment. The actor waved an Indian flag in the poster, shirtless and wearing blue pants. However, many thought the poster was poorly made or AI-generated. Acknowledging the criticism, Rajkummar said, “The ones who made the poster have understood, they have learnt their lesson. They have understood they need to take their time and not rush things; there’s no hurry. I think the team has learned its lesson. But they have also understood that dada’s fan following is crazy.”

Rajkummar last starred in Bhool Chuk Maaf and Maalik in 2025 and in Toaster this year. His next film, Prahaar , is directed by Avinash Arun and produced by Dinesh Vijan under the banner of Maddock Films. It also stars Wamiqa Gabbi, Lalit Prabhakar, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Sikandar Kher in lead roles. The film explores Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's role in legal battles surrounding the 1993 Bombay bombings and 2008 Mumbai attacks. It will be released in theatres on October 16.

Rajkummar also has Stree 3, Dada and Raftaar lined up next. In the interview, he also spoke about Stree 3 , stating that the filmmakers were working on the script. He also mentioned that they want to make a film that is fun to watch rather than just advancing the franchise.

Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good film that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that. Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews.