“Yeh naya Hindustan hain, yeh ghar me ghusega bhi aur maarega bhi” (This is the new India; it will invade your house and beat you up too).
“Dhurandhar” by director and writer Aditya Dhar, which was released in theaters in December 2025, ended with this dialogue. A dialogue that should inspire and inspire the audience to feel the same national pride as our hero Jaskirat Singh aka Hamza Ali Mazari (played by Ranveer Singh). Hamza penetrates Pakistani Lyari as an agent and literally sets it on fire.
Than that first part of the film depicting the major players in Pakistani politics – the men who infiltrate India in unimaginable ways to stay in power – the second film promises revenge, even retribution. The story begins right after the death of charismatic leader Rehman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna) and the focus shifts to bigger fish, ISI officer Major Iqbal (Arjun Rampal) and his henchmen. We also get more from Rakesh Bedi, Danish Pandor and Sanjay Dutt. New characters include a ghost from Hamza’s past and “Bade Sahab”. Who could this be, you ask? Of course, Bombay’s own Dawood Ibrahim (Danish Iqbal).
The highly anticipated sequel ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ released on March 19 and has already broken several box office records. It is not only the biggest opening in Ranveer Singh’s career but also a breakthrough 1000 Crore Clubwhich is slowly becoming one of the top ten films with the highest domestic collections. Dhurandar: The Revenge also replaced the long-running morning screening of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) in Mumbai Maratha temple Theater, a first in 30 years. As the weeks go by, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is expected to achieve more firsts in the industry.
The good, the bad and the ugly
While Dhurandhar gave us eight chapters and ran for 3 hours and 32 minutes, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is just as long with seven chapters and a runtime of 3 hours and 49 minutes. If you see the film in India, think about spending five hours of your life in the theater. However, the most important question here is: is it worth it? Well, here’s what the film gets right and what it doesn’t.
The good: Dhar spends a lot of time on Hamza’s backstory, which at times seems too drawn out until he justifies it by bringing Hamza’s childhood best friend and drug dealer Pinda (Udaybir Sandhu) back into Hamza’s life. The twist serves as a climax before the break and makes you want to sit through the next two (unbearably violent) hours.
Secondly, Shashwat Sachdev’s music – which serves as the film’s background music – helps drive each section of the film. This album also contains a mixture of old gems and originals. Remixes include ‘Aari Aari’, ‘Oye Oye (Rang De Lal)’, ‘Hum Pyaar Karne Wale’ and ‘Jaan Se Guzarte Hain’, while Jyoti Nooran, Jasmine Sandlas and Reble’s pumping Vaari Jaavan and Arijit Singh’s soulful Phir Se stand out.
Sara Arjun’s character also accepts Hamza’s revenge a little too easily. One wonders whether she was sympathetic to the Indian cause or whether she actually has no representation in Dhar’s version of Pakistan.
The Bad: The revelation that Hamza is actually an Indian agent left a lot to be desired. Sara Arjun’s character also accepts Hamza’s revenge a little too easily. When he names names and talks about deaths, she just listens with tears in her eyes. One wonders whether she was sympathetic to the Indian cause or whether she actually has no representation in Dhar’s version of Pakistan.
The ugly: The pace and the fatigue of violence. As the climax is reached, Hamza doesn’t score quite the way he should (pun intended) against Major Iqbal.
Dhar’s Manosphere and the Angry Young “Mard”
Forget that men don’t feel pain. In Dhar’s world, “jahan dard hai wahan mard hai” (Where there is pain, there is a man), voiced by SP Chaudhary Aslam (Sanjay Dutt) while shooting a man. And “ghayal hoon isliye ghatak hoon” (I am wounded, therefore I am fatal) said by both Sanyal and Hamza.
But don’t worry, Dhar’s heroes don’t kill women and children, that’s something only Dhar’s Pakistani men do – as if that distinguishes the two. Even if the absence of women bothered you in the first part, there are almost no women in this part, with the exception of Hamza’s wife Yalina.
The creation of Dhar’s angry young man begins with Hamza’s backstory. Chapter 1 begins with Jaskirat Singh, a third-generation army recruit, one minute happily taking a family photo and the next brandishing an AK47, brutally killing twelve men. We learn that our hero’s father was murdered by the local MLA’s men over a land dispute, his elder sister was raped and murdered and his surviving younger sister was also sexually abused. Although Dhar alludes to this violence, he thankfully spares us the graphic details.
Jaskirat Singh Rangi (Ranveer Singh) with his sister Harleen Rangi (Hitika Bali) in Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Image source: Jio Studios/B62 Studios
Jaskirat is just a young man who has been betrayed by his own government and is forced to take matters into his own hands. India’s broken judicial system lands him in prison when Indian National Security Advisor Ajay Sanyal (R. Madhavan) rescues him and trains him for Operation Dhurandhar.
Somehow Sanyal manages to convince Jaskirat to become the ‘King of Beasts’ as only a ‘real man’ can ruin Pakistani terrorists for ‘Bharat Maa’. His exact words: “Hum mard hain, Jaskirat.” Paida hone se marne tak, hamara farz hai ladna (We are men, Jaskirat. From the moment we are born until we die, it is our duty to fight.) Here we learn that Hamza means “lion,” which explains the figure’s long and lush mane.
Today’s Hamza is the manosphere influencer in Lyari (although the film dubs him as Lucifer the devil) who pulls the strings to control Uzair Baloch (Danish Pandor) and tells him not to be emotional, man up, assert himself and take back what is his – the title of Sher-e-Lyari. Taking advantage of Uzair’s grief, Hamza orchestrates his descent into madness, which eventually leads to him killing his political rival Arshad Pappu and playing football with his head in broad daylight. Hamza then plans to arrest Uzair in Dubai and take him to Pakistan, where he will be accused and prosecuted as an Indian spy while Hamza sits on the throne as King of Lyari.
As Hamza pursues the destruction of his enemies and the city, throwing dynamite after dynamite and blowing up shop after shop, one wonders if Dhar has a habit of assuming that everyone in Pakistan is mean.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Major Iqbal has a misogynistic father who attacks and expresses Iqbal’s insecurities, including the fact that he couldn’t have a son. But that’s where the film’s sympathies for its characters end. In Dhar’s Lyari, everyone is a gangster and everyone deserves to die.
As Hamza pursues the destruction of his enemies and the city, throwing dynamite after dynamite and blowing up shop after shop, one wonders if Dhar has a habit of assuming that everyone in Pakistan is mean. The film tells us: If this is the new India, then this is the new angry young man: it is his duty to fight. He doesn’t fight against the system; it becomes a system. And so begins this long power grab that puts Indian nationalism at the forefront.
Propaganda and the New India
There has been a lot of debate online about whether or not this film is propaganda. The answer comes within the first few seconds of the film. As the screen goes black and text appears, a voice reads the disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Dhurandhar is a lesson on how to create communal hatred for political gain. Tell the Hindus in India that the Muslims built a mosque by destroying a temple, and tell the Muslims in Pakistan that someone burned the Quran, and then watch the chaos unfold.
While the first part focused explicitly on the failures of India’s intelligence service, the second part celebrates victories, namely Modi’s Victory in the parliamentary elections in 2014 and demonization, as efforts to counter Pakistan’s plans to subjugate India. Meanwhile, the story also delves deeply into partisan politics in Pakistan, which reportedly even extends to influencing the UP elections at home.
The prominence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections also highlights the decline of Muslim candidates from the center of power in India (who the film assumes support Muslim extremist ideals and work with Pakistan’s leaders). All of this points to a very conscious and controlled Islamophobic narrative. Aap Chronology Samajhiye.
What is shocking, however, is our caricaturized version of Pakistan being used to justify Islamophobia.
The harrowing real footage from the first film is replaced by a montage showing the assassination of terrorists who had planned attacks in India. The lingering images on the screen, accompanied by fast-paced music, show that the “problems” are being solved and almost give the audience room to cheer. What’s even more irritating is that the film ends with Sanyal’s final message in which he makes it clear that Hinduism is not a cowardly religion. In fact, in both parts, Dhurandhar tells us to be afraid of Hindus. What is shocking, however, is our caricaturized version of Pakistan being used to justify Islamophobia.
Aarthi (she/her) is a young feminist currently living in Jodhpur who enjoys writing about pop culture and art-related topics. In her writings she tries to position herself between self-reflection and social conversation, which leads to the exploration of unconventional ideas. In her free time she travels, writes poetry, and watches films and anime