Dhurandhar
Hindi - Spy / Thriller214 minsIn Cinemas
Disclaimer - The movie is justifiably gory and violent
Prologue
I have always loved the great Martin Scorsese’s way of making movies — taking time with its people, letting the plot simmer, refusing to rush the audience into a twist every ten minutes. Scorsese’s films, almost proudly three-hours-plus, hold your attention not because they are long, but also because they are alive. The feverish pacing is relentless yet purposeful, a paradox only he and his longtime collaborator, editor Thelma Schoonmaker seem to pull off: she cuts with the instinct of someone who knows exactly which heartbeat to keep and which breath to steal.
Of course, there is the violence — graphic, unflinching, and often uncomfortable — drawn from Scorsese’s own experiences. Scorsese has long insisted that the brutality in his cinema is not indulgence; it is documentation. Violence is part of the human condition, tucked away in all of us.
Dhurandhar, carries echoes of that philosophy. I enjoyed the film - detailed, confident, meticulously plotted, and unafraid to take its time. You will see a few callbacks to "The Departed" - i could not help myself!
The review
The uproar over the runtime and violence of Animal might have set off months of discourse. Dhurandhar comes from the same school of filmmaking: richly detailed, slow-burning, structurally ambitious, with each sequence and character being purposeful. Writer-director Aditya Dhar (with collaborators on the additional screenplay) does a stupendous job of building the world brick by brick, character by character, chapter by chapter.
The promos themselves hinted at a Departed-like ensemble — exciting, though I braced for recycled cross-border tropes. I was happily surprised, Barring Drohkaal and Mukhbir, we have rarely seen Hindi cinema tackle the identity erasure/spy concept with such clarity.
RAW chief Ajay Sanyal (R. Madhavan), frustrated by decades of terror incursions from the 1999 Kandahar hijacking to the Parliament attacks — believes India must strike at the root. After bureaucratic hesitation, the government greenlights Operation Dhurandhar.
Enter Hamza (Ranveer Singh), who slowly but surely infiltrates the gangs of Lyari (Karachi). He navigates rivalries between ganglord Rehman Dakait Baloch (Akshaye Khanna) and his father, climbs the Lyari underworld ladder, laden with politics of Balochistan, gradually gets close to the ISI core led by Arjun Rampal’s icy Major Iqbal.
Along this labyrinth, Hamza plays the board with a host of other pawns
• Jameel Jalali (Rakesh Bedi) — a politician who smiles like a man holding secrets behind every tooth.
• Yamali Jalali (Sara Arjun) — Jameel’s daughter, who becomes a crucial source, not just a token romantic angle.
• SP Chaudhary Aslam (Sanjay Dutt) — a loose cannon with swagger and storm clouds for eyes.
• Uzain Baloch (Danish Pandor) – Rehman’s brother and right hand, loyal and lethal.
Ajay Sanyal states it early — Sabr (patience) and vigil are the true pillars of spycraft.
As my favourite movie critic Baradwaj Rangan points out that the film demands the same from its audience. You lean in, you stay alert - the payoff is worth the investment.
The dialogues are sharp and studied, never jingoistic. Though, with everything working so well, I wish Aditya Dhar did not feel the need for a few pointed jabs (although respectfully I did snigger at the name of a tea shop – let me know if you could find it!).
The censor board, meanwhile, behaves like a contradiction in motion — generous with bloodshed (some scenes require a strong stomach), prudish with swear words ( only Galoch in Baloch, no gaali!) – funnily being allergic to pass a kiss in the new Superman movie!
The trailers gave away too many of the film’s best dialogues, inexplicably - given how well the moments land in context.
The performances
Ranveer Singh reminds us why he is one of our most committed actors. I can never forget his diction, body language and commitment to Peshwa Baji Rao. Contrary to his persona, he begins in near-silence, absorbing the world through micro-expressions, gradually morphing into the calculating usurper. Two scenes are pure acting clinics:
• When he unexpectedly meets Major Iqbal for the first time - Fear, rage, and what if calculation flicker in milliseconds;
• When he is in the 26/11 war room - forced to stay in character while internally unravelling. His eyes speak so much.
Akshaye Khanna delivers a Robert De Niro-level performance. Grumpy-faced, coiled, devastating in the pauses, but the words land as killer jabs. His Fa9la (by Flipperachi) walk in (akin to Jamal Kudu for Bobby Deol in Animal) is blatant influencer bait, but I admit, was immensely entertaining. His performance is of course beyond that – much like Jack Nicholson’s in “The Departed” , scene stealing.
Madhavan appears briefly but anchors the character with stoic authority. One believes he may have a greater part to play in part 2.
Arjun Rampal is chilling as Iqbal — doctrinal cruelty in human form, making you really hate him. Sanjay Dutt, though visibly aging and double-assisted in long shots, still commands the frame with his gravelly baritone and old-school swagger.
Rakesh Bedi is THE revelation — clumsy, witty, and dangerously sly. So happy that a veteran actor gets such a meaty part and handles with aplomb. Gaurav Gera is quietly brilliant as Hamza’s handler. Sara Arjun looks like a kid in front of the humongously built Ranveer singh, but the age gap is beautifully explained in the film . Confident, not once does she look out of place.
Saumya Tandon as Rehman’s wife has but a few scenes, but gives us the coolest version of the “Tilak”, when she lights her husband’s cigarette as he leaves home to punish his elder son’s killers. Danish Pandor has plenty of screen time and does a terrific job as Rehman’s brother and Hamza’s friend and guide.
This is easily one of the best ensemble performances in a mainstream Hindi thriller in years.
The Technical teams deliver outstanding work:
• Art direction & Production design: Much of Lyari was recreated in Thailand — and the illusion is flawless. Grit, texture, marriage of chaos! Chandigarh and Ladakh double as across-the-border terrain with astonishing believability.
• The Cinematography by Vikash Nowlakha is potent, close ups, to wide shots to the fast cut action sequences – and the snazzy camera move in one of film’s party songs – superb
• The editing is razor sharp and generally the film’s length does not hurt – however some scenes are probably drawn out, outliving their impact. The VFX in general is quite good, but the crowd shots are a little inconsistent and patchy.
• The film’s beating artistic heart is the Music and Background Score by Shashwat Sachdev
Shashwat voraciously digs through Saregama/HMV archives — qawwalis, discos, pop classics -reweaving them into a modern, swaggering soundtrack. Much like how Scorsese used Mick Jagger / The Rolling stones songs in crucial moments in his movies. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics complement Shashwat reworking to absolutely sublime effect.
One would never have thought two famous qawwalis of Hindi cinema would ever be reworked for to such an effect
The film opens with a the Barsaat Ki Raat qawwali - Setting a tone of operatic fatalism.
“Aandhi ban ke aaya hoon, mera haunsla bhi ayyaash hai,
Na To Karwaan ki Talaash hai, na to humsafar ki Talaash hai.”
And the movie ends with another gem from the same movie, with Sonu Nigam barnstorming Sahir Ludhianvi’s lines
“Naaz-O-Andaaz Se Kehte Hai Ki Jeena Hoga
Zehar Bhi Dete Hai To Kehte Hai Ki Peena Hoga
Jab Main Peeta Hoon To Kehte Hai Ki Marta Bhi Nahin
Jab Main Marta Hoon To Kehte Hai Ki Jeena… Hoga
Ye Ishq Ishq Hai, Ishq-Ishq “
A haunting omen for Hamza’s (or Jaskirat Singh Rangi) psychological unravelling — the cost of becoming Dhurandhar. something hopefully part 2 will explore.
Epilogue
Dhurandhar is that rare Hindi espionage thriller that trusts the audience’s intelligence, respects their patience, and rewards their attention. It blends character study, political intrigue, atmospheric craft and a blistering ensemble into a film that blends old-fashioned storytelling with modern execution.
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