It’s a deluge… 700 crores and still counting… The rousing ‘Dhurandhar’ wave not only ‘tornado’ed box offices across the world, but it also shattered all sorts of records – from being the most watched film worldwide and supposedly, most pirated too especially in Pakistan, to getting explosively ‘Gram’med with the blitzkrieg of viral ‘Hamza’ (Ranveer Singh’s character in Dhurandhar) spy reels… And the social media, as we all know according to today’s mercurial times, is the ‘lie’ barometer of “instant” success. But rest assured, ‘Dhurandhar’ isn’t just any momentous “instant”, the film despite whatever critics like Anupam Chopra would like to aver or believe, is raw, mass-fuelled and impactful.

Sumita Chakraborty, Founder & Editor-in-chief, TheGlitz, muses over and analyses the runway success and hyper-visible world-wide appeal of ‘Dhurandhar’. What has made this film so ground-breakingly different? Is it the “viral” reels on social media? Is it Flipperachi’s score and Akshaye Khanna’s three seconds ‘internet-breaking’ dance that did the trick? Was it the snowball effect where the algorithm did the maths? Or did ‘Dhurandhar’ stand out for its ‘Rubic’ effect? Read on…

The ‘Dhurandhar’ Vortex

At one point, success was measured in terms of milestones, today it refreshes itself every three seconds. But a film like “Dhurandhar’s has captivated not only the mouse clickers but also live audience of various ages. Based on true events as the film claims, it speaks openly of sensitive issues like the BTS decisions made by the government during the ‘Kandahar hijack, fake notes which led to Modiji’s decision of demonetisation, 26/11 Mumbai attack or how perhaps one of our ministers sold off our currency plates to terrorists… back stories that speak volumes of political treachery and government duplicity that was always out-of-reach and hidden to the Indian public.

‘Dhurandhar’ Appeal

Yes, ‘Dhurandhar’ became a wide-spread phenomena across the globe. Perhaps because this film was raw and unfiltered that dropped the kids’ gloves treatment meted out by the censors and actually treated the audience like an adult. It rousingly spoke of a new India where there was nothing bigger or better than the nation. It opened out a new facet and heralded India’s unknown soldiers who martyred themselves for the nation. Soldiers lost in oblivion, whose sacrifices were so momentous but were hidden from the public eye for decades. More importantly, it dusted off the web of anonymity from our foremost spymaster Ajit Doval who lived in Pakistan for 8 years. Currently, he is the longest tenured National Security Advisor in India. So many nuances, conspiracy BTS, theories… yet there’s one that evokes memories of the battle between David and the Goliath.

Aditya Dhar Versus Bollywood’s Goliath

The film’s director Aditya Dhar, known for his amazing debut film ‘Uri: Surgical Strikes’, released in 2019 was heralded as the whiz kid of the film industry but even though he announced ambitious projects like ‘Article 370’ and other impactful films which he produced, it was his dream project ‘Ashwathama’ that was like an albatross around his neck. He announced it was Vicky Kaushik and then Ranveer Singh held the mantle of its burden until Aditya just couldn’t crack the code and the film was shelved.

Some whispered that the ambitious project did not get the nod from the powerful Moghuls of Bollywood. Aditya became something like David standing valiantly against the Goliath like camps of Bollywood.

Of course, they nodded in approval albeit rather pompously, feigning praise yet still looking down their nepo noses at the rank newcomer who barged into the Tinsel Town realm ruled with an iron fist by close-knit film families. It was just a dent by an outsider, they sniffed, it wouldn’t make a mark, they said.

Outsiders, as everyone knows, were nudged out and side-lined before they could even make a dent. No wonder, so many actors and directors who had made promising debuts, vanished into oblivion. But not the unassuming yet ‘ziddi’ Aditya Dhar who produced films like the hard-hitting ‘Article 370’ and ‘Baramullah’ but waited for six long years to direct his next biggie.

Bust Spy Verses & What Was Dhruv Rathee Thinking?

When ‘Dhurandhar’ released, it didn’t just hit the screens, it rattled the nation’s idea of what Bollywood could be. Naturally, the power moguls responded in the most predictable way possible…

Whispers quickly grew louder. Several journalists openly spoke about “an agency” allegedly being paid to bad-mouth the film… some even taking the conversation straight to social media, where discretion goes to retire. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone.

‘Dhurandhar’ had clearly struck a nerve. More than a few of Bollywood’s nepo pitamahs found their carefully curated spy universes suddenly looking… vulnerable. Especially since their most recent, extravagantly funded attempt… lavished with crores, hype, and pedigree, went spectacularly bust.

Turns out, money can buy noise, but it can’t always buy impact.

Worse still, it even backtracked influencer Dhruv Rathee’s power. Dhruv Rathee, once hailed as the fearless voice against PM Modi, faced a harsh reality: the moment he criticised ‘Dhurandhar,’ his followers plummeted almost overnight.

How Did It Become a Super Hit, Say Bollywood?

What was absolutely astounding was that the film had shattered all pre-notions about what makes a Bollywood film a hit. Earlier, top directors insisted that they had cracked the code for box-office success… pick a top actor, sprinkle some love songs, add a sexy leading lady… shoot at exotic locales… add a cloak n dagger storyline and call it an edgy “spy verse’ film, and voila, you have the audience flocking to the theatres. But ‘Dhurandhar’ went against the grain and broke every rule of the masala film, because it was everything a masala film wasn’t.

Lord Bobby’s Successor – Rehman Dakait aka Akshaye Khanna

‘Dhurandhar’ starred Ranveer Singh as the covert agent from India in Pakistan but his character “Hamza” was subtle and understated. It was the charismatic Akshaye Khanna who caught the imagination of the multi-verse social media. His entry at a Balouch camp with the background score of Bahrani rapper Flipperachi’s FA9LA created shock waves in the ‘Gram and voila, the social media had found Lord Bobby Deol’s successor… Akshaye Khanna as Rehman Dakait. And his resemblance to the real Rehman Dakait was uncanny… in fact every one of the actors… from Madhavan who played Ajay Sanyal but the character was inspired by the iconic Ajit Doval, Sanjay Dutt who played the legendary Lyari encounter specialist SSP Chaudhary Aslam and Arjun Rampal as the menacing Major Iqbal. Indeed, amazing casting by Mukesh Chhabra! The only weak link was the heroine of the film 20-year-old Sara Arjun. But that Mukesh Chhabra says gets answered in the second part.

…Perhaps that had the public flocking to the theatres but ‘Dhurandhar’ didn’t have just Akshay Khanna, it had a solid script that captivated the audience for three long hours.

At the end, the film shattered all records… and is still doing so. It changed the way the audience looked at Bollywood. Here was a film unlike all others… it mirrored the true reflection of Indian politics, life in Pakistan especially in a hamlet like Lyari, Pakistani underworld and most importantly, the unholy marriage of Pakistani politics, underworld, terrorism and a segment of tainted Indian politicians.

What was amusing was that though the film was banned in Pakistan and 6 Gulf countries because of its so-called ‘anti-Pakistan’ message, ‘Dhurandhar’ supposed was one of the most watched films on the dark “pirated” web in all these countries especially Pakistan. In fact, even Pak influencers have shared various reels dancing to FA9LA aka Akshaye Khanna and made spoofs of the film.

Dhurandhar Part 2

So what next? Well, now, we are all waiting for Dhurandhar Part 2… Will it be a sequel or a prequel? Who is the shadowy ‘Bada Saheb? Who is Hamza aka Jaskirat Singh Rangi – Ranveer Singh’s covert agent character? If you recall even in ‘Uri: Surgical Strikes’, the name Jaskirat Singh Rangi was referred to. Fans, in fact, even decoded that there is a possible connection between ‘Uri’ and ‘Dhurandhar’?

So many questions… and only the unflappable Aditya Dhar holds the answers. Our sources reveal that Dhurandhar 2 is already in the making, so all we can do is wait… and watch. For now, every eye is on Dhar, a filmmaker who seems to have a covert agent of his own, turning shocking, uncomfortable truths into edge-of-the-seat cinema.