A lot has been said and written about Dhurandhar: The Revenge as it continues to draw the viewers all across India and beyond. Watching the movie in the cinema was an experience I hardly associate with Bollywood movies. There are movies that you forget by the time you move out of the parking lot of a cinema. Dhurandhar: The Revenge is not such a movie, especially if you’re an Indian.
Firstly, it’s not easy to keep the audience engrossed for almost four hours. Aditya Dhar achieves this by using a tight script that twists and turns. It includes solid action setpieces and an immersive soundtrack. Last but not least, there are top-notch performances. Then there are technical aspects like cinematography and production design that have already been praised. The editing is exceptionally sharp as the movie keeps you hooked to the screen for almost four hours.
I was not much impressed by the action sequences in the first movie. But Dhurandhar 2 gets it right in terms of style and energy. That said, I did feel that some of the dialogues were inserted in the second installment at a later stage. A few of them felt somewhat oddly placed in some of the scenes. I have to add, it was refreshing to watch a Bollywood movie without the usual silliness and the unnecessary song and dance.
Again, the level of performance in the movie is superlative to say the least. Ranveer Singh played a subdued character in the first installment, shifting to the background as the story demands. He was planning his moves from the background, without drawing too much attention. Here, he unleashes himself, immersing into the characters of Jaskirat and Hamza with unmatched intensity. All the other actors shine in their roles, making the movie a blend of solid performances. As in the first part, Rakesh Bedi as the slimy Jameel Jamali steals attention.
The trailer already indicated that the movie will focus on the origin of Jaskirat Singh Rangi. But the intensity of those scenes took me by surprise. The first half an hour sets a furious pace. It features an initial action sequence that is probably the best to come out of Bollywood. The movie then takes us back to the gangs of Lyari, and it is a sharp and steady ride till one hits the interval with a bang. Things get somewhat faster post-interval as Aditya Dhar had to tie up all the loose ends without any loose ends. The story also moves out of Lyari to some of the posh locations in Karachi.
At times, I felt that some pieces fell into place too quickly or conveniently. That made me think that perhaps a five-six episode miniseries would have been a better choice for Dhurandhar to do proper justice to the story. Also, some plot points do stick out. Other than being a plot device, I still don’t understand the need for a spy to maintain a secret notebook that can jeopardize his mission.
But it’s easy to ignore these aspects once one gets carried away by the ride. The pace gets faster in the concluding half an hour as the action picks up again. As in the first half, the action is intentionally kept raw and brutal. Aditya Dhar decides to get more dramatic in the end for the showdown that he has been building up since Dhurandhar 1. I never expected the training montage to come after the credits, and it was surprisingly well delivered, tying up a few of the remaining loose ends.
Shaswat Sachdev’s stands out again. I would not compare it with the first part, though. Both soundtracks have their moments. Starting from the first ferocious action scene, the music plays an enormous role in enhancing the viewing experience of the movie. As seen in the first part, the selected tracks from the previous era have been placed in strategic locations. I didn’t feel that all the scenes matched perfectly with the mood and tones of the songs. But it was fresh, it was different, and miles ahead of what Bollywood has churned out in recent years.
Not many action movies have an emotional core throbbing deep within them like Dhurandhar 2. The brooding hero delivering justice is a popular approach. But Dhar excels in portraying him not just as an avenger, but as someone who sacrifices everything he loves for his country. I don’t remember seeing any other violent action film depicting such tender emotions in its closing moments, punctuated by some heart-touching music. Arijit Singh weaves his magic through the number “Phir Se” and Ramana Balachandran’s veena track is mesmerizing.
Dhurandhar is also a movie about the choices we make and how we face consequences. Jaskirat was forced to make a sacrifice for his family. And life gave him a chance to make more sacrifices for a larger cause, his country, as Hamza. In many ways, the movie pays tribute to the numerous unknown heroes. Such patriots have made sacrifices for our country at the international border and beyond it.
What makes the Dhurandhar movies a major talking point is that Aditya Dhar is unapologetic in his approach towards the perpetrators of terrorism residing in Pakistan. Nor is he even slightly hesitant about being aggressive in his presentation. It seems he is determined to speak for the millions of Indians who have suffered from terrorism for years by telling the story of India’s response to terrorism.
The raging popularity of Dhurandhar: The Revenge indicates that the audiences are finding some form of catharsis through the drama unfolding in the two movies. Even beyond India, the movie has emerged as one of the top three in North America within a week of its release. If we compare Dhurandhar 1 and Dhurandhar 2, the second has already overtaken the first in earnings.
Some of the dialogues in the second installment focus on brutally honest facts. For example, one retired army personnel in the movie refers to Operation Searchlight– an infamous military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army during the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. The terrible atrocities committed by the Pakistani army on the women of the erstwhile East Pakistan are hardly discussed in mainstream media. Dhar was not pussyfooting around in the first part, and he notches up the level in this one.
Besides, Aditya Dhar comes from the valley of Kashmir, a region that has been bloodied and ravaged by Pakistan-aided terrorism since the 1990s. His community was driven out of their homeland, which is a tragic chapter in post-independent India. The irony lies in the fact that a director coming from a land scarred by Pakistani terrorism has made India’s most dynamic anti-terrorism film to date.
Even with all the research, Aditya Dhar is not making a documentary on specific events, balancing the pros with the cons. He has a fictional story to tell with a clear message. For that, he merges facts and fiction in the script with a finesse that is rarely seen in Bollywood movies. It is as if Aditya Dhar is tired of the monopoly of certain groups and nations creating their own narratives and larger-than-life images on screen. Quite simply, he is uncaring about the labels of “propaganda” or “jingoism” that have been stuck on him by certain sections with specific mindsets.
As of now, we have no idea where Dhurandhar 2 will end its worldwide box office collection. The record-breaking earnings by both movies to date indicate that the Indian viewers want the movies to present realities, without shying away or intentionally distorting them. In the end, Aditya Dhar has made a landmark film for the Indian audience, and they are rewarding him for his uncompromising approach.
Only a few movies come with the ability to change the perception of the audience. Dhurandhar: The Revenge is one such. Undoubtedly, the two Dhurandhar movies are a turning point in Bollywood. If this level of perfection and writing becomes the standard in the industry, one can hope for great things in the future.
By Suvajit Banerjee
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