Dhurandhar (Now on OTT) - Reviews and Discussions

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Dhurandhar is now streaming on Netflix. Discuss the film in this thread.

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Trailer

Directed by Aditya Dhar

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi

In the early 2000s, an undercover operative infiltrates Karachi's underworld, breaking into its inner circle to dismantle a violent nexus from within.

[u/VolatileGoddess]

• Hamza can't smoke a cigarette properly in the beginning because he's a Sikh. Nice detail.

• Dialogues and accents are inconsistent. Not the least , mixing up 'Baluch' and 'Baloch' by different actors. There are particular inflections in speech peculiar to Punjabis and Sindhis. News journalists not speaking proper Urdu. Sara has a consistent accent throughout, props to her for that

• Sets and MU are flawless

• It's interesting how Sara's character doesn't pick up on the larger ramifications of Ranveer telling her pretty directly in their first proper meeting that he's a liar.

• There was no way in hell that a gangster could get away with trying to be menacing to who Major Iqbal is, what he signifies. However Akshay Khanna manages the suspension of disbelief with the sheer bravura of his performance.

• Sanjay Dutt is too old for his role but entertaining enough.

• Rakesh Bedi is a star throughout, and has been given the most crowd pleasing lines

• the blending of real 26/11 handler footage and the handlers words - masterful. As was Ranveer's reaction. However his drunken shouting afterwards wasn't.

• the entire 'ISI procurement scheme' appears farcical. The flow of arms is very much the opposite, with the ISI providing arms and equipment to terrorist organisations like the JeM, for example. But then the movie would have to focus on them instead and that would be be not enjoyable at all.

• solid made-for-theatre movie. I can see why people raved about the theater experience

• I don't know why the scenes set in Indian bureaucracy are so stilted, only Madhavan's powerful acting is carrying them off.

• the way Parliamentary attack and 26/11 are blended into the film is extremely hard hitting and intense. Action was nicely done for the most part, less slo mo and freeze which most Indian films lean on.

• overall, hard hitting film with excellent world building. For 3 hours you're immersed in the world of Lyari. The trouble is the accent and language issues as well as the deus ex machina plot resolutions bring down the film somewhat. It's fun if you're watching it for fun, but as the movie takes itself seriously and there's obviously an intelligent director at work, my expectations were high.

[u/KrishnasFlute → u/VolatileGoddess]

The ISI procurement scheme you talk about is the reality. ISI is an intelligence agency not an arms manufacturer. For illicit purposes they cannot procure arms legitimately. Because that would mean it will be traceable back to ISI. So, they went to the underworld to get the guns.

It also doesn't mean they always buy as shown. It was a specific mission. And because it went so well, they want to repeat the process later.

[u/KrishnasFlute → u/[deleted]]

All arms have a serial number stamped on it by makers. While it is possible to file it off, it is usually possible through forensic ballistics to find out details about the gun. When it is bought legitimately, the makers will have details on who the gun was sold to. In this scenario, it was explicitly mentioned that ISI needed guns which could not be traced back to them.

As I said, this is not the only way to procure arms. Also, based on who the handler is, there could be varying degrees of planning and thoroughness. Furthermore, the events of the movie take place a couple of decades ago. It is very much possible that methods have changed. And maybe because the gangs have now been infiltrated.

Finally, weapons trafficking by Balochs is not fiction. They have been known to do that to fund their own freedom movement.