Three and a half hours. 210 minutes. That’s how long Aditya Dhar asks you to sit through Dhurandhar. And here’s the shocking part: you’ll want every single minute. Maybe even more.
Dhurandhar isn’t just a movie. It’s a visceral, brutal, unapologetically nationalistic deep dive into the shadowy world of Indian intelligence operations in Pakistan. It’s the kind of film that makes Uri: The Surgical Strike look like a warm-up exercise. The kind that references IC-814, Parliament attack, and 26/11 not as background context but as fuel for rage that powers every frame.
Released December 5, 2025, it opened as the second highest opener of the year. Pakistan is furious about it. Social media is divided between calling it a masterpiece and propaganda. Critics are praising the performances while questioning the runtime. And Ranveer Singh, who everyone expected to go full Animal-mode with unhinged energy, surprised everyone by delivering the most restrained, controlled, terrifyingly intense performance of his career.
But here’s what nobody predicted: Akshaye Khanna would walk into this film, play a Karachi gangster based on real-life criminal Rehman Dakait, and absolutely dominate every scene he’s in. Not just matching Ranveer. Overpowering him. Stealing thunder. Making audiences forget they’re watching one of Bollywood’s biggest stars because a character actor just reminded everyone what actual acting looks like.
The film isn’t perfect. That runtime is indulgent. The first half drags. There’s romantic subplot that nobody asked for. But when Dhurandhar works, it works so well that you forget the flaws. Because Aditya Dhar just made the most technically brilliant, deeply researched, gut-wrenchingly realistic spy thriller Bollywood has ever produced.
Share this with your Bollywood group chat because Dhurandhar is the most controversial film of 2025 and everyone has an opinion about it.
What Actually Happens In This Three And A Half Hour Epic
Dhurandhar opens with trauma. IC-814 hijacking in Kandahar, 1999. Indian government forced to release terrorists in exchange for hostages. National humiliation broadcast globally. Then Parliament attack, 2001. Then 26/11 Mumbai attacks, 2008. The film strings these real tragedies together not for exposition but to establish rage.
The premise: India’s Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajay Sanyal (the plan is masterminded by intelligence leadership) realizes reactive responses won’t work. Pakistan’s ISI, its politicians, and its criminal gangs operate as nexus. They’re too connected, too protected. Traditional intelligence gathering isn’t enough. India needs someone on the inside. Deep inside. In the heart of Karachi’s most dangerous neighborhood: Lyari.
Enter Ranveer Singh’s character, an undercover RAW agent tasked with infiltrating the Lyari gang ecosystem. The mission, codenamed Operation Lyari, is to embed himself so deeply in Pakistan’s criminal-terror network that he becomes indispensable. To earn trust, he must commit acts that test his humanity. To maintain cover, he must watch Indian citizens suffer while pretending to celebrate with the enemy.
The film is divided into chapters in the first half, making the sprawling narrative easier to follow despite jumping between timelines and locations. Dhar’s worldbuilding is meticulous. Karachi’s Lyari isn’t generic “dangerous foreign location.” It’s textured, specific, researched. The dialect. The power structures. The friction between resident Pakistanis and Balochs. The way gangs, police, politicians, and ISI intersect. It feels dangerously real.
Akshaye Khanna plays the Lyari gang leader inspired by Rehman Baloch, known locally as Rehman Dakait. He’s feared, respected, and wants to transition from gangster to legitimate political leader. He’s violent but strategic. Ruthless but with code. And Khanna plays every shade of this complex character with such precision that you can’t look away when he’s on screen.
The first half establishes stakes, characters, and operations. It’s dense. Information-heavy. Occasionally overwhelming. By intermission, some viewers feel fatigued from sheer volume of events and players. But the second half shifts gears. Tension builds. The emotional stakes clarify. And the climax delivers the cathartic release the film has been building toward for three hours.
Don’t skip this next section because the violence in this film is making headlines for all the right and wrong reasons.
The Violence That’s Breaking The Internet
Remember when Animal sparked debates about excessive violence in Hindi cinema? Dhurandhar says “hold my beer” and proceeds to show beheadings, torture, and brutality that exceeds anything Ranbir Kapoor’s film attempted.
But here’s the difference: the violence in Dhurandhar isn’t gratuitous. It’s not stylized for shock value. It’s realistic, uncomfortable, and serves narrative purpose. This is how gang wars actually operate in Lyari. This is what happens in espionage when covers are blown. This is the cost of infiltrating networks built on terror.
Multiple reviews specifically mention that this film isn’t shy about bloodshed. Beheadings included. The only real overlap with Animal is the willingness to show graphic violence. But where Animal used violence for masculine power fantasy, Dhurandhar uses it to establish the stakes of covert operations in hostile territory.
The action sequences are technically brilliant. Aditya Dhar, who made Uri’s surgical strike sequence iconic, elevates his craft here. The Lyari gang war sequences use heavy weaponry including rocket-propelled grenades. Armored personnel carriers are destroyed. Snipers positioned in dense alleyways create tactical advantage. It’s not Bollywood choreography. It’s military operation cinematography.
Some viewers will find it excessive. Others will appreciate the unflinching approach to showing what actual espionage costs. But everyone will agree: this isn’t your typical “hero beats up 50 goons” Bollywood action. This is war filmmaking applied to spy thriller genre.
Ranveer Singh’s Career Defining Performance Nobody Expected
Ranveer Singh is known for energy. For going big. For commanding attention through sheer force of personality. He’s played manic characters (Khilji), loud characters (Simba), theatrical characters (Jayeshbhai Jordaar). Restraint isn’t his signature move.
Which is why his performance in Dhurandhar is shocking. He’s completely controlled. Deliberately restrained. Saving his rage for moments that demand it. Playing a character who must suppress everything he feels to maintain cover.
Watch his expression when his character is forced to watch a terror attack in India play out live on Pakistani television while his gang members celebrate. The internal conflict, the barely contained fury, the necessity of maintaining facade. Singh conveys all of it without dialogue, without outbursts, through pure performance.
This isn’t Ranveer Singh playing Ranveer Singh in period costume. This is an actor disappearing into a role that requires him to do the opposite of everything his instincts tell him. And he nails it.
Multiple reviews call it career-best work. NDTV’s headline literally says “Feral Ranveer Singh, Stellar Akshaye Khanna Drive An Indulgent Spy Thriller Home” with emphasis on “Without an iota of doubt, Ranveer Singh is back with a bang.”
But here’s the thing: even with career-best Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna walks away with the film.
Share this with your film buff friend because the Akshaye Khanna renaissance happening in Dhurandhar needs to be discussed immediately.
Akshaye Khanna Just Reminded Everyone He’s On Another Level
“Akshaye Khanna steps out of syllabus, surprises everyone.” That’s an actual headline from a review. And it’s accurate.
As the respected and feared Lyari gangster who wants political legitimacy, Khanna delivers a performance so layered, so completely inhabited, that he “almost steals Ranveer Singh’s thunder” according to NDTV. Other reviews go further, saying he absolutely does steal it.
The character is based on real-life Rehman Baloch, known as Rehman Dakait, who controlled Lyari before gang wars and police operations dismantled the network. Khanna plays him not as generic villain but as complex figure navigating power structures in environment where violence is currency but political legitimacy is the goal.
He’s terrifying when he needs to be. Calculating. Charismatic enough that you understand why people follow him. And vulnerable in moments that reveal the impossible position of being gang leader trying to transition to politician while ISI, rival gangs, and police all have different plans.
The Adgully review puts it perfectly: “Akshaye Khanna walks in, steals the film and walks out like it was nothing.” That’s not hyperbole. In a film with Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal, a character actor playing a Pakistani gangster is the performance everyone’s talking about.
This is what happens when genuinely talented actors get meaty roles in films with ambition. Khanna’s been underutilized for years. Dhurandhar reminds everyone that when properly deployed, he’s one of Hindi cinema’s best performers.
Aditya Dhar’s Vision: Technically Brilliant, Narratively Indulgent
Aditya Dhar made Uri: The Surgical Strike in 2019. It earned over Rs 342 crore, became cultural phenomenon, and established Dhar as director who understands military operations and nationalistic storytelling. Dhurandhar is his follow-up. And it’s both more ambitious and more indulgent than Uri.
The direction is solid. Dhar’s grip on subject matter is clear. The recreation of Karachi’s Lyari is atmospheric and believable. The way he weaves real historical events (IC-814, Parliament attack, 26/11) into fictional narrative creates urgency and emotional investment.
But the dialogue occasionally overwhelms action. The film is information-dense to the point of fatigue. And that three-and-a-half-hour runtime is the biggest issue critics consistently mention.
Hindustan Times review nails the core problem: “Trim thirty minutes and this would have been a knockout. As it stands, it is a sturdy watch.” That’s fair. The first half, despite being divided into chapters for clarity, drags. There’s romantic track between Ranveer and newcomer Sara Arjun that begins well but feels unnecessary given the sheer volume of other narrative threads.
The second half is stronger. Tension finally builds after intermission. Climax delivers. But getting there requires patience that not all viewers will have.
Yet Dhar’s ambition is commendable. He’s trying to make sprawling, detailed espionage epic that doesn’t simplify geopolitics or sanitize violence. He wants to show how Pakistan’s gangs, politicians, and ISI interconnect. How covert operations actually work. The friction between Balochs and Pakistanis. The brutality of Lyari gang wars.
That level of detail and research creates authenticity. But it also creates length. Whether you think the tradeoff is worth it depends on your patience for three-and-a-half-hour runtimes.
The Music, The Romance, And The Pacing Issues
Shashwat Sachdev’s background score is phenomenal. Old Hindi classics recreated for specific moments. The music works wonderfully when it stays in background, enhancing atmosphere and emotion.
But when music pushes forward, it slows things down. There’s a song featuring Krystle D’Souza and Ayesha Khan that breaks pace rather than lifting it. The romantic subplot between Ranveer and Sara Arjun, while well-acted initially, becomes another element adding to runtime without proportional narrative value.
Multiple reviews praise performances, direction, and technical craft while noting pacing problems. The consensus: Dhurandhar works best as character study wrapped in sprawling espionage drama. The emotional stakes and cast keep you invested. But indulgent storytelling tests patience.
For viewers who love detailed worldbuilding and don’t mind long runtimes, Dhurandhar delivers. For those wanting tighter, faster-paced thriller, the length will frustrate.
The Real Story Behind The Fiction
Dhurandhar is inspired by real events. Operation Lyari was actual Pakistan government-led crackdown on gangs in Karachi’s Lyari neighborhood. The area was known as “Karachi’s Wild West” for decades, controlled by criminal networks with political connections.
Rehman Dakait, the inspiration for Akshaye Khanna’s character, was real gangster who controlled Lyari before gang wars erupted. Chaudhry Aslam, the famous police officer who fought these gangs, was killed in suicide bombing in 2014. Baba Ladla, another major gang figure, was killed in 2017 Rangers operation.
The film uses these real figures and events as framework for fictional narrative about Indian intelligence infiltration. How much is fact versus fiction remains unclear. But the level of research into Lyari’s gang ecosystem, the political dynamics, and the violence is evident in every frame.
This authenticity is what makes Pakistan furious about the film. They’re not just upset about portrayal of ISI or terror networks. They’re angry that Bollywood made movie about Lyari gang wars before Pakistan’s own film industry did. The Republic World headline captures this: “Pakistanis Furious As Bollywood Makes Lyari Gang War Movie Before Lollywood.”
The Box Office And The Verdict
Dhurandhar opened as second highest opener of 2025. Despite three-and-a-half-hour runtime, audiences are showing up. The trailer got 62 million views in two weeks and trended at #12 on movies charts. Word of mouth is strong, particularly for performances.
Critical consensus is mixed-to-positive. Praise for ensemble cast (especially Singh and Khanna), direction, cinematography, music, and atmospheric worldbuilding. Criticism for length, uneven pacing, and occasional narrative inconsistencies.
But here’s what everyone agrees on: Dhurandhar is ambitious. It’s technically brilliant. It’s the most realistic espionage thriller Bollywood has made. Whether you love it or find it exhausting depends on your tolerance for long, detailed, violent storytelling.
For Ranveer Singh, it’s career-defining performance that proves he can do restrained intensity. For Akshaye Khanna, it’s renaissance moment reminding everyone of his talent. For Aditya Dhar, it’s bold follow-up to Uri that cements his position as director who understands nationalistic action filmmaking.
Drop a comment: Have you watched Dhurandhar’s 210-minute runtime in one sitting or did you need breaks? Team Ranveer or Team Akshaye? Do you think the length is justified or indulgent? Share this with every Bollywood fan, spy thriller enthusiast, and anyone who’s been sleeping on Akshaye Khanna’s talent because Dhurandhar just proved he’s one of Hindi cinema’s most underrated performers and this conversation needs amplification.
Follow for box office updates on whether Dhurandhar crosses Rs 300 crore despite its runtime, how international audiences respond to its unapologetically Indian perspective, and whether Aditya Dhar’s next film will be equally ambitious or more restrained. Because when a director makes three-and-a-half-hour spy thriller that’s second highest opener of the year despite requiring bathroom breaks, it’s not just success. It’s statement that audiences will show up for quality even when it demands patience. Ranveer Singh is feral. Akshaye Khanna is stellar. And Dhurandhar, flaws and all, is the most technically accomplished espionage drama Bollywood has produced. That’s not hype. That’s unanimous critical consensus. Now go watch it and decide for yourself whether 210 minutes of your life was worth the most realistic portrayal of Indo-Pak intelligence operations Hindi cinema has ever attempted.
Dhurandhar released December 5, 2025 as Aditya Dhar’s follow-up to Uri, starring Ranveer Singh in career-best restrained performance as undercover RAW agent infiltrating Karachi’s Lyari gangs, with Akshaye Khanna stealing the film as gangster based on real-life Rehman Dakait, supported by Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal in sprawling three-and-a-half-hour spy thriller that references IC-814, Parliament attack, and 26/11 as context for covert operations in Pakistan. The film opened as second highest of 2025, earned mixed-to-positive reviews praising performances and technical craft while criticizing indulgent runtime, features graphic violence exceeding Animal’s benchmark, meticulously recreates Lyari gang ecosystem with dangerous authenticity, and sparked Pakistani fury about Bollywood depicting their gang wars before Lollywood could. It’s not perfect but it’s ambitious, brutal, realistic, and proof that when Bollywood commits to espionage genre with proper research, talent, and vision, the results justify even excessive runtimes for audiences willing to invest in sprawling character-driven narratives wrapped in nationalistic action filmmaking.
