Dhurandhar (2025)

Dhurandhar brought me back to the 80s. It is a Sylvester Stallone style action thriller which is almost comic in its over-the-top style action, and from what I understand, right wing political leanings. This is the sort of action film where the hero throws a lighter to blow up a building and walks away in slow motion as it blows up behind him. At almost three and a half hours it is epic in its scope and brutal in its violence. It is spectacle for sure and gripping throughout even if its messaging is rather suspect. 

Singh plays a cliche of an action hero. Stoic and muscly with flowing locks that put Jason Momoa to shame. He is undercover, embedded into Pakistani gangs to undermine them for India. While the film claims to be a work of fiction, I understand it is not only based on real events, but uses footage of actual violence from the conflict between Pakistan and India as part of its story. That might be unsettling enough as this isn't a dramatization of history but also due to the film's strong anti-islamic sentiment. There is not analysis of the complexities of the conflicts. This is very much a one-sided story framed in action movie glory. Perhaps American Sniper might be one of the closest American analogues but that film even had more self-consciousness of what it was doing. Maybe Top Gun is a better comparison.  

But I have to hand it to the film makers, Dhurandhar is extremely entertaining and watchable. Visually incredible with violent set pieces that are incredibly gripping. For a film this long, it is never boring, keeping the action an gore moving along at a kinetic pace. There are wonderfully filmed car chases, gun fights, explosions, all the things audiences into hyper-masculine films want without much moral ambiguity to get in the way. As a film, you could tear it apart for its lack of subtlety or nuance but you can't fault it for lack of entertainment value.  

Still, it's a film with limited views on heroism, no female characters that are developed or there to do anything but advance the mens' arcs, and some homophobic references. It is supportive of the Modi regime in India with only the slightest of veiling of that support. Set before his time, it implies a government like his is what India needs. It takes a lot of overlooking of (if we're being generous) problematic elements to truly enjoy Dhurandhar. 

Dhurandhar

Starring: Ranveer Singh

Writer/Director: Aditya Dhar