With trends getting more ridiculous by the day, yet another one joins the growing circus – Dhurandhar. The so-called “first look” was thrown at us on 6th July, timed with actor Ranveer Singh’s 40th birthday, as if the film needed birthday candles to stay relevant. But of course, before the look was even out, the PR drama had already kicked off. Ranveer wiped his entire Instagram feed – apparently, to create a ‘mystery’. What it really did was scream “Desperate for attention.”
There was no launch event – just a boring digital drop. And surprise, surprise, we already knew what was coming. Ranveer plays yet another RAW agent. Yawn. The supposed villains? Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt (yes, again), and Arjun Rampal – all playing Pakistani agents who, like every other Bollywood spy flick, will be gloriously gunned down in the end. And if that’s not predictable enough, R. Madhavan plays Ajit Doval – India’s “James Bond”, because why not drag real-life figures into fictional testosterone fests?
But here’s the real kicker – audiences are sick of this recycled hyper-nationalism. We’ve had D-Day, Phantom (same plot, same hate), Mission Majnu (a certified flop), and Tiger Zinda Hai (which fizzled below expectations). Does the team behind Dhurandhar seriously believe they’re bringing something new to the table?
Director Aditya Dhar, still high on Uri: The Surgical Strike, thinks one more chest-thumping jingoist tale is what we need. Spoiler alert: It isn’t. The whole project reeks of a filmmaker chasing another hit without realising the mood of the audience has long moved on.
Ranveer Singh’s look? A dull mash-up of Alauddin Khilji and Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. Zero novelty. Zero effort. Just a lazy blend of aggression and eyeliner. The teaser is literally just blood, bombs, brooding and beatdowns. Remove the background music, and all you’re left with is a silent montage of violence. And that “hook track” by rapper Hanumankind? Sources say it doesn’t even feature in the actual film. It’s all bait. Flash without substance.
But if you think that’s where the absurdity ends, hold on. Ranveer Singh is paired opposite 20-year-old Sara Arjun. Yes, that Sara Arjun – the child actor from TV ads, now cast as the romantic lead for a man literally twice her age. How is this even remotely okay? It's awkward. It's creepy. And it’s beyond tone-deaf. What’s worse is her father, actor Raj Arjun, seems totally unfazed by this onscreen mismatch. Where is the self-respect?
And let's talk money – the film's bloated budget is pegged at ₹350 crore. But they’ve decided to go head-to-head with Prabhas’ Raja Saab on 5th December. A Pan-India Tollywood star vs. a worn-out spy fantasy? Good luck with that. Add to it the fact that Dhurandhar is reportedly banned in half the Middle East – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel – all countries that don’t entertain India-Pakistan themed cinema. So how exactly is this going to be a "worldwide release"? Delusion much?
Dhurandhar isn’t a film. It’s a tone-deaf, recycled, overproduced relic of everything Bollywood refuses to let go of. The story is stale, and the patriotism is past its expiry date. If this is Bollywood’s idea of reinvention, maybe it's time for the whole industry to take a sabbatical.