2 Dhurandhar 2 Furious

I did call it when I said it was a male fantasy. But perhaps I was too kind with my diagnosis of propaganda. Dhurandhar is, in all ways, the BJP's most efficient way to gaslight and manipulate the Indian audience to believe a revised version of real-life events. It can no longer claim to be 'based on true events', a 'documentary' or a 'creative interpretation' of reality. It is far-right, Hindutva propaganda that is the most effective of its kind so far because it has established popularity and reach far beyond its predecessors. I suppose one should congratulate Aditya Dhar; he has marked a new era of cinema in which public faces and places are no longer secretly celebrated, but rather lauded by the masses.

But you might be confused as to why I'm crying propaganda. 

Well, if you read my Dhurandhar 1 review, while I criticized the film, I did actually enjoy it for what it tried to be. But I also pointed out its glaring flaws. Mainly, the political sentiments that the film propagates. I'm sad to inform you that whatever was redeeming in the first film no longer exists in the second. Dhurandhar 2 solely exists to convince the public that Narendra Modi as PM is the greatest thing to have ever happened to any of us.

The movie itself sucks. It betrayed everything that worked the first time while also trying to copy itself by recreating 'iconic' moments from movie 1. Ranveer Singh is no longer a spy; he's some caricature of a mafia boss and it's awful to watch. Gone is the spycraft, and the only emotion is when he occasionally sobs, so we know that he cares about India. Remember when I said that women were mere plot devices in the first film to add some lazy character development for the male characters? The movie's main action starts with Ranveer Singh committing mass murder in an MLA's house, shooting and stabbing multiple men because they kidnapped his sister and were holding her hostage (presumably assaulting her). This 'cool action scene' is a way to endear us to the main character because 'Oh, he cares for his sister, he's saving her from evil men'. The assault of women is often portrayed as an inciting event for men in film to 'take action' and 'be men'. There is no actual address of the assault or its implications for his sister, but why would there be? The assault is merely to shock the audience and affirm that Ranveer was justified in his merciless revenge. Color me bored. I thought maybe we'd get some nuance because Ranveer is sentenced to prison for his crimes, even though he was just responding to crimes committed against him and his family; it highlights the lack of accountability and wrongdoing perpetuated by Indian politicians. But, nope. The Indian government steps in and asks him to be a spy and promises to keep his family safe, so I guess they're not complicit. But when the Pakistani bad guys are shown doing the same (and worse) crimes, they're villains, black and white. Make it make sense.

See, I was still under the assumption that we weren't going to be too overt with our dog whistles, so I was keeping an ear out for references and innocuous one-liners by Madhavan's character (who portrays Ajit Doval, the ex- Director of the Intelligence Bureau). Turns out I shouldn't have even bothered because the director was gonna spell it out in clear bold letters for everyone. 

The movie, after its halfway point (after the intermission), jumps forward in its timeline to 2014. Why? Because they needed to show a clip of Modi swearing in as the new PM of India. I kid you not, they show an actual clip from the ceremony. The same CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification or the Censor Board) that prohibits any political messaging from films, demands cuts, prevents accreditation, and outright bans movies that don't agree with its guidelines, allowed this. The Pakistani villains, of course, naturally start shaking their boots and claim that they've lost because 'the chaiwala won the country'. This is going one step beyond the previous movie's claim of  'One day there will come a government to uplift us all.' Modi is the prime minister, and already, Pakistanis are fleeing in fear. Then they mention UP. Our villains are using counterfeit Indian currency to move drugs and terrorists into India through UP. They are using Indian currency, and they have established routes, so it's difficult for them to be caught in the act by the Indian government. 

It is during this event that the movie does its most egregious act of misinformation and blatant lying. Aditya Dhar claims in his movie that the demonetization of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes in 2016 was a success. The movie itself makes it seem as though demonetization worked successfully and all the black money used by Pakistani infiltrators was flushed out. This is a fictitious reality in which the Modi government saved India and its economy. In reality, where the rest of us live, demonetization was a major failure. 99.3% of the withdrawn money was returned according to the RBI, meaning black money was not expunged from the economy. What it did end up causing was cash shortages, unemployment, shutdown of small businesses, and a reduction of India's GDP. This was not a well-received decision on any front and has been proven on multiple counts as unsuccessful. 

The movie also states that the ISI (Pakistan's Intelligence Agency) funded Kashmiri militants, Sikh separatists in Punjab, and the Naxalites in Kerala. This, of course, a move made by many real-life politicians from the BJP. Hell, they even added Dawood Ibrahim, a well-known criminal with terrorist links, just so they could make him fear Modi from his bedridden state in Pakistan. He cries about how the Indian government is building a temple, referring to the infamous Ayodhya dispute regarding the Babri Masjid, and how this is defeating their terrorist agenda. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 was an infamous act in which the RSS and BJP were involved and complicit. This is an event that led to the death of thousands and sowed communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims for years on end, lasting today.  Even Arjun Rampal's character, Major Iqbal, an ISI antagonist, has to listen to his father tell him how 'he can never beat the Indians now.'  Forget about the plot; the movie basically devolved into a praise session for Modi. A competition to see who can twist facts the best and make them fit the BJP agenda. It's almost laughable how this movie tries so hard to do good PR for the BJP's worst political and humanitarian crises.  

The fact is that you won't see Aditya Dhar put the same effort into talking about dirty politics in India, the casual cruelty of its politicians, the scandals, the cheating of innocents, and the communalism spread in the name of a religion and the dream of an ethnostate. No movie on Gujarat. No, we shouldn't mention how the then-CM of Gujarat, Modi, had claimed the Godhra train attack was an act of terrorism and used that to incite violence against Muslims in his own state. The rape, looting and murder of thousands. People were dead, injured and displaced. For three days, he encouraged violence, and the police and law enforcement did nothing. He allowed state terrorism in the name of Hindutva. Why would Aditya Dhar make a movie on that? His movies are funded by JIO and celebrated by the BJP. Such partnerships make his stance on politics quite clear. 

And then, if pulling from Indian history alone wasn't enough. Aditya Dhar decides that he actually wants to comment on current politics as well. He reaffirms the Indian-Israeli government's decades-long relationship by stating that India received confidential information about Pakistan's military defences from the Israelis, all while Boney. M's 'Rasputin' plays loudly. In a scenario and time in which Israel has been committing genocide in Palestine, broke a ceasefire and is attempting to commit a genocide in Lebanon, and has, along with the US, been taking part in a war against Iran, Aditya Dhar supports the Modi government's spineless stance to support Israel and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu. After all, Israel is the fatherland. 

This is, along with their partner-in-film crime, the CBFC. The same CBFC that blocked 'The Voice of Hind Rajab.' A film that depicts the story of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car under IDF fire, and the Red Crescent workers who were trying to save her. A film based on a real-life event that was banned over fear that it would it could 'damage diplomatic relations between India and Israel'. The same CBFC that blocked Monkey Man by Dev Patel because it criticized a 'fictional Indian government' (one that resembled the current one a tad too much) and showcased hijras in a non-evil light, lest we forget how anti-progress the centre truly is. The use of words like 'blocked' and 'waiting for clearance' when what they actually mean is banned. These movies will never be allowed to be shown in theatres in the country because sense might prevail in even a few audience members, and then they'll have to double the budget on gazillion-rupee productions that are mindless but satisfy the patriarchal, systemic, and military agenda. 

This is how state-sponsored media works. The CBFC will never filter out films like Dhurandhar or Kerala Story because it fits their and the ruling party's political ideologies. Movies that are more progressive and question the people in power will be censored. Because that is how right-wing, authoritarian rule works. This is a movie that is fascist, islamophobic, misogynistic, and uses violence because why have good fight choreography when blood is more effective? 

The people who claim this movie isn't propaganda and to separate 'politics from art', you'll find, have a close relation to the people who didn't care about the wars and genocides taking place in West Asia until it affected LPG's in India. It isn't political until it affects you. But for people who have basic pattern recognition skills, propaganda is propaganda, whether it's confirmed to be or not. And that means that the people involved in making this film, the director, the producers, and the cast, along with its fervent supporters, are complicit in making it as widespread as it is. Your favorite actor? They know what their doing by taking roles like this. Which means one of two things. A) They want the easiest way to get awards, fans and quick, solid money. These films rake in cash that takes decades to make by working the hard way. Or B) It goes with their political beliefs and they don't see a problem with it. Either way, they profit off of such slop. And there's C) Both. They want the money and they want the party protection. And I'll be the first to tell you, it's almost always C. They can make all the progressive, activist, liberal movies they want, but it's just acting. The people who are actually activists are the writers and creatives behind those films, not the actors. If you disagree, just check any prominent Bollywood actors' ties to the RSS. There'll always be a photo, a press meet, a promotional music video, etc. They're Ambani's friends, not yours. Do not put entertainers and athletes on pedestals; they will use it to assume importance they should not have. 

Maybe Dhurandhar 2 will break bigger records, maybe it'll win a National Award, but one thing is for sure: it has cemented in the minds of many a truth that is fabricated, and rewards peddling political opinions in your work. Art is political. And while this is definitely not artistic in my opinion, it is political and will impact the polity. 

Because in India, there is no separation between film and life. It is one and the same. And it is convenient how this duology was released with enough time to shape opinions before the 2026 State Legislative Assembly Elections.  

Maybe this review feels too political. I would review the actual movie, but this is the movie. The rest of it is just lazy violence, lazy exposition, lazy dialogue, and lazy writing. It was so boring after a certain point. There was no clear plan, no clear motive, loose ends, vague character exploration, forced tension, etc. I actually wanted Hamza to be killed because that would've been more realistic. Spies don't get recognition or movies made after them. They live secretly and die secretly. It was such a poor movie, which is why it makes sense Aditya Dhar felt the need to really commit to the BJP of it all, because otherwise, who's filling the seats? The first one was no masterpiece, but this...this was self-aggrandizing and blusterous to no good end. 

People online claim that it's anti-nationalist to hate this movie. Then comes the influx of 'go to Pakistan'. In a country where political opposition, ethical opposition, and moral opposition to the ruling party are seen as anti-nationalist, when it's just anti-censorship and Hindu nationalism, you do wonder what company you'll find at said table. 

It is indeed a sad state that Indian cinema is currently facing. One that reflects the sad state of the Indian system. But not of the Indian people. For the people are varied and cannot be grouped so decidedly. 

Dhurandhar is a dhurandham. But what else is new? Movies like this have always existed in India and gained apt criticism. So my question is not why propaganda? My question is, where is the space for criticism? All I see is paid PR, pushback, labels and negative connotations to people who express their opinion. This, alone, is not the end of the world, but I would advise, as always, to question why something is being pushed down our throats so hard. And why resistance is conflated with some crime against nationhood. This is not selective outrage, as some media houses would love to claim it is; people have criticized such movies and will continue to criticize them, as is their right, and cherry-picking instances in which the uproar wasn't the same or ignoring the valid reasons as to why people are complaining isn't the journalism they think it is. 

Anyways, this movie managed to make me bored, angry, and laugh at its stupidity, so for that trifecta alone, I believe it merited some discussion from my part. 

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