Dhurandhar Review
Dhurandhar opens with a bang. The first image of R. Madhavan as the IB Chief is as raw as it gets – rugged, no-nonsense, and instantly believable. The opening stretch feels exactly like something out of an Aditya Dhar film: dark, gritty, and dripping with suspense.
The film quickly sets its tone using real-life tragedies as its backdrop – the Kandahar Air India hijack and the 2001 Parliament attacks. From the beginning, you feel the heaviness of the world the story is set in, and the atmosphere is built quite well. The director captures some extremely raw visuals, especially during crucial moments, and those scenes stay with you.
A Strong Start… That Keeps Stretching
While the setup is impressive, the film soon starts to feel like it’s dragging. Every premise, every character, every side plot is given space, and that space slowly turns into a stretch. The story moves so slowly that you begin to feel there are many scenes that simply didn’t need to be there.
It almost feels like two different movies stitched together: a sharp, tense opening, and then a long, meandering build-up that keeps testing your patience. According to your experience, the real movie only truly begins after about an hour, when the brutal, “killer” action finally kicks in.
Once that switch flips, though, the action is raw enough to make you forget movies like Animal for a while. The intensity, the physicality, and the way violence is shot feel brutal and grounded.
Performances: Akshay Khanna Leads the Pack
In terms of performances, one name clearly stands out: Akshay Khanna.
His look, his action beats, and especially his dialogue delivery remind you exactly why he is considered such a veteran actor. Every time he’s on screen, there’s a sense of control and weight. He feels like the most complete package in the film and easily overshadows many others.
Ranveer Singh comes in with a raw and rugged look. Initially, that look doesn’t feel particularly special, but as the film goes on, his “Pathan” avatar slowly grows on you. Gradually, he starts getting into your head in the right way – intense, unhinged, and unsettling. At the same time, his character doesn’t always feel like a proper spy; at several points, it comes across more like someone chilling in Pakistan than a man on a high-stakes mission.
Sara’s styling is a standout in its own way – her look has a very Pakistani feel and is genuinely heart-winning.
Arjun Rampal, sadly, is almost wasted. He gets barely any screen time, which is disappointing considering his potential presence.
Sanjay Dutt once again delivers a 10/10 in terms of look, entry, and screen presence. The only issue? It’s the same look, the same energy, and the same persona he has brought to more than a dozen films recently. It’s solid, but no longer surprising.
Background Score: The True Hero of Dhurandhar
If there is one department where Dhurandhar is practically untouchable, it is the background score.
The BGM is “faad” for every situation – loud when it needs to be loud, tense when it needs to be tense, and always perfectly in sync with what’s happening on screen. It’s so good that it almost doesn’t feel like something that came out of mainstream Bollywood.
Out of everything in the film, the background score is that one element that has no competition. It lifts scenes that would otherwise feel flat and gives the movie a cinematic edge it doesn’t always earn through its writing.
Romance in a Spy Thriller: Completely Unnecessary
Dhurandhar is fundamentally a spy film – a space where rawness, tension, and ruthlessness should dominate. Instead, typical Bollywood habits creep in.
Random boy–girl romance moments are inserted into the narrative between Ranveer and Sara. Not only do these romantic scenes feel out of place, they also carry very little real meaning for the core story. In a pure spy thriller, this kind of romance feels unnecessary, no matter how much the film tries to justify it.
These romantic diversions, combined with the already slow pacing, make the film feel even longer. It’s no surprise, then, that media shows were reportedly cancelled at the last minute – watching the movie, you can understand why. When a spy thriller keeps turning romantic and feels endlessly stretched, it hurts the overall impact.
Replaying India’s Terror Traumas… Again
Like in many of Aditya Dhar–style narratives, Dhurandhar once again revisits India’s major terror attacks – 26/11, the Parliament attack, the Kandahar hijack, and more. Everything is portrayed in a raw, realistic manner, and from a technical standpoint, it’s done well.
But from an entertainment point of view, seeing the same traumatic events revisited again and again starts to feel repetitive. The only “new” thing here is which tragedy the film chooses to frame its story around. After a while, that repetition becomes boring, no matter how well it’s executed.
Action & Technical Flaws in the Climax
When the film goes into full action mode, it truly delivers. The rawness, the violence, and the sheer physical impact of the combat are satisfying and memorable. The finale, in particular, could have been absolutely outstanding, but it is marred by a huge technical error—the police somehow hear a car accident from two kilometers away, which ruins the immersion. Moments like that break immersion and pull you out of the experience.
OTT Material More Than a Theatrical Experience
By the end, Dhurandhar feels like a film that should have gone straight to OTT. The pacing, the stretched narrative, the unnecessary romantic track, and the repetition of similar terror-attack themes make it feel more suited for at-home viewing than a big-screen, high-energy theatrical ride.
The character placement and character work are actually quite good, and if the film were shorter and tighter, the experience could have been twice as enjoyable. Instead, it ends up as a mixed bag:
Strengths: raw action, outstanding background score, Akshay Khanna’s performance, some strong visual moments, and an intense second half.
Weaknesses: slow pacing, unnecessary scenes, forced romance, repetition of familiar terror-attack frameworks, underused actors like Arjun Rampal, and some jarring technical errors.
Final thought:
For the action alone, Dhurandhar earns a solid 3/5. But as a complete theatrical spy thriller, it feels like a long, often frustrating experience with flashes of brilliance buried under its own weight.
