Dhurandhar is a film that divides you even when you like it. And I did really enjoy this film. But I cannot sit here and tell you it is problem-free, because one of those problems is so deeply embedded in the writing that it pulls against everything else the film is doing. More on that in a moment.
Aditya Dhar, who wrote and directed Uri, brings the same scale and ambition here. Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, a host of great character actors. Three and a half hours long. And it does not feel that long. Almost all of that runtime is earned, which is a real achievement. This is a spy film unlike anything else made in India. Nothing is black or white. Every single character operates in grey, including Ranveer’s protagonist. Akshaye Khanna is exceptional. Arjun Rampal, playing a man with something clearly up his sleeve, is superb. The look on every actor in this film, hair and makeup throughout, outstanding.
Here is the issue. In a film full of morally grey characters where nothing is simple, two different characters at two different points basically say: let us wait for the right government to come and then we will act. In a fictional story set in 2007-2008. In a film where nothing else takes sides like this. It is a specific political narrative inserted into a story that by its own logic should refuse to do that. That inconsistency sticks out. The love story also runs about 10 minutes longer than it needs to.
Watch it. Definitely watch it. Just know you are going into a film that earns its best moments despite working against itself.
