‘Dhurandhar’: The Blockbuster Splitting India

You already know the premise of Dhurandhar before you settle into your seat: an Indian spy (Ranveer Singh) with killer instincts who will fight, bite, bleed to win. As the film’s opening lines, from the Bhagavad Gita, reads, “Rise, Arjuna, prepare yourself for battle.” 

The battle? India’s ongoing fight against terrorists, allegedly all funded by Pakistan. The film relies on some historical facts and takes liberties to fill the gaps. The film opens on December 30, 1999, the real-life hijacking of an Indian plane forced to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by Pakistan-based group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The hijackers say they will let the civilians go only if India agrees to release three terrorists. India complies, but those men reportedly go on to perpetrate further acts of terror, from the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament to the 2002 killing of journalist Daniel Pearl to the 2019 attack in Pulwama.

The 3.5-hour-long film is now in critics’ jail, many of whom believe it’s propaganda, while others grapple with their feelings. As one audience member posted on X: “Don’t know how I feel about watching a well-made propaganda movie.” The thing is, Dhurandhar is technically great: great acting, great cinematography, a killer soundtrack. Its biggest mistakes are its contrived dialogue and how it flattens its women, both of which it could have done without.