(This chain of thoughts was first shared on Twitter on 14 Dec 2025)
Finally watched the movie late last night.
Sharing some thoughts on it.
At the outset, a hearty ‘Well Done’ to @AdityaDharFilms, @AdityaRajKaul, @RanveerOfficial, @ActorMadhavan, @yamigautam and all others associated with the film.
It is indeed a MUST WATCH.
Before anything else, I’ll share this recording from 26/11 Terror Attack which was uploaded to Youtube by @shiv_cybersurg.
If u think the Red Screen in #Dhurandhar was shocking, you are sadly mistaken.
At 4:00, Woman: “Pl don’t kill me”
Then AK-47 shots 👇
And if you think the scenes of ecstasy in the ‘Control Room’ in Karachi as shown in the movie were exaggerated, then there is a white coloured building in Agra that I am willing to sell to you at a massive discount.
Coming on to the movie as such, it was indeed a treat to watch and that too with the Missus and both kids. Then entire hall was engrossed in the movie.
The best part, bulk of the crowd was from a generation that would have been kids at the time of Kandahar Hijack and 26/11.
That it had an impact on them was quite apparent during the intermission and at the end of the movie. The conversations amongst the movie goers were almost like whispers and the tone suggested that they were shocked at what they had seen.
Yes, SHOCKED.
Why I say so, you asked?
Well, because for one, they have never been told about Pakistan in its true colours.
As told to most of them, Pakistan is just another country with some misguided terrorists who keep on attacking India. And of course, a large number of sincere & good-hearted ISI personnel who are working tirelessly to prevent those terrorists from harming us!
Well, isn’t that what most of the Bollywood ‘Spy-Thrillers’ of the past few decades have been showing: Good Pakistanis fighting with Good Indians against Bad Indians?
Of course, none of them would dare to show this part of the actual Pakistan to us hoi-polloi.
Because that would go against their ethos .. of sleeping with the enemy.
Because .. maybe .. they want to CONTROL what we think of Pakistan perhaps?
No wonder some of them are so upset at not just the fact that #Dhurandhar is doing very well in theatres, but the very fact that someone DARED to make such a movie in the first place!
Thankfully, their opinions only matter in their own echo-chambers and not in the real world!
They are quick to critique.
And they are equally quick to run away when their own critiques get critiqued!
You see, they are only willing to criticize, because well .. it is their job!
But when they start receiving honest feedbacks, they hide their critiques and run away!
And then they bring out the highly important sounding ‘Guilds’ to sermonize!
What is left unsaid is the fact that these ‘VERY IMPORTANT’ Guilds are, in fact, they themselves!
What is also left unsaid is the fact that they belong to an ecosystem which seeks not just money but also love from Pakistan. Yes, the same Pakistan that would gladly call them Kaafirs, take their money and not blink an eye before taking their very lives.
But then, so blinded are some people that they are willing to even stake their very reputations on something as absurd and as idiotic as ‘Human Rights for Terrorists’
Of course, they being ‘blind to the obvious’ is a very charitable explanation, because I do get the feeling that atleast a few of them are in fact, actually rooting for the other side even as they live and thrive within our borders.
Before moving ahead, I will also leave this tweet here.
Make of it whatever you will.
Coming back to the movie as such.
Much of what Aditya Dhar has shown in the film is actually open source knowledge, provided you were actually open to seeking it. This includes the Kandahar Hijack, the FICN racket including the dyes and paper for Indian currency notes and even 26/11.
What has been shown in the movie is Pakistan in all its ‘glory’ wherein even sworn enemies unite when it comes to harm India.
There is no fiction in it, mind you.
TTP had promised to halt ops against Pak Army and fight WITH them in case of a war against India.
Still don’t believe me?
Well, let me offer you a photo of a former Chief of ISI sitting at the feet of Hafiz Saeed, head of Lashkar ‘e Taiba at a rally called for ‘Difa e Pakistan’, i.e. Defence of Pakistan.
Yes, terrorists are just Paaki soldiers in mufti.
This is the part of the thread where I once again offer kudos to the #Dhurandhar team, including @AdityaRajKaul, for the brilliant research done by them. I would specifically mention the getup of the ISI guy played by @rampalarjun who is unmistakably modelled after Ilyas Kashmiri.
For those who don’t know who Ilyas Kashmiri was, here is his wikipedia page : Ilyas Kashmiri Wikipedia.
Do browse this a bit before moving ahead.
In case you missed it above, he was personally felicitated and rewarded by Musharraf for bringing the severed head of an Indian soldier as a gift for him. What is to be noted is not the mutilation, but the fact that he had access to Musharraf himself.
Coming back to 26/11, only an idiot would refuse to see that it was done by the govt of Pakistan.
High-ranking Pakistanis themselves have acknowledged this.
But some bleeding heart bastards here still cry at the ‘unfair’ depiction of Pakistan in the film!
The gore and violence depicted in the movie has very rightfully earned it an ‘A’ Certificate from the CBFC, but then, I doubt it would have come as a surprise to the makers. Dare I say, the violence depicted in the movie was actually necessary, thanks to its very theme.
However, what is amusing to note is that it caused atleast one adult-age actress to feel so threatened that she is now scared to have babies in this country. Well, it is purely her choice, I’d say, just like the kind of movies she chooses to do. However, I would definitely say this 👇 to her & to all others who are HORRIFIED by the violence depicted in the movie.
My message to them is fairly summed up in the tweet quoted below.
Violence is as old as human history, whether or not you like it.
Period.
Fact is that we need MANY MORE such movies – Movies that don’t shy away from showing reality without need to sugarcoat it in any way, or add typical commercial ‘formula’ of song and dance.
The audience is changing.
Film-makers who refuse to see that will soon become irrelevant.
What I wrote above is not merely an opinion. It is, in fact, borne by the fact that people are actually spending money to watch #Dhurandhar.
So much so that almost all shows are running houseful.
I myself was lucky to get tickets yesterday!
BTW, if you noticed in the screenshot above, two of the three highest grossing films of the year 2025 are those that gave immense pain to a LOT of folks of that subscribe to a particular way of thinking.
It only goes on to show their growing irrelevance in the larger scheme of things.
This is what I wrote after watching #Chhaava, btw. #Chhaava and #Dhurandhar remain the only two films that I have watched in a theatre this year.
Do read the blog post linked in the paragraph above about how Bollywood has been a tool for influencing minds & thoughts.
There is nothing wrong in it, mind you. But for far too long, far too much content was influencing minds & thoughts in a wrong direction.
As far as those who are aghast at negative portrayal of Pakistan in #Dhurandhar go, I am yet to see them provide any specific instances of what is wrongly depicted about Pakistan.
For them I have a simple advice:
Step 1 : Take a Deep Breath
Step 2: Now hold it for 2611 seconds!
As I wrap up this chain of thoughts, I will paraphrase a dialogue that the character of Mr Sanyal as played by @actormadhavan says in the movie: “The beauty about time is that it changes”
THAT hits the nail on the head, IMO.
Time is cyclic.
So is the cycle of Karma.
Here I will talk about Javed Khanani and the really authentic-looking FICN printing that went on in Pakistan, apparently with help from many of our own. Firstly, once again, the actor playing Javed Khanani bore as much resemblance to the actual bastard as was possible.
Unsurprisingly, he ‘committed suicide’ less than a month after India announced Demonetisation!
Very convenient, no?
Businessman Javed Khanani commits suicide in Karachi, leaving money laundering case unsolved
Fact is that even though Demonetisation was a bitter pill, it still had to be taken by us all because there was no other way to STOP the high-quality FICN printing presses of Pakistan.
Here’s a report from India Today : Pakistan officially printing fake Indian currency notes.
Last para just about sums it all up.
Here’s one more report about FICN ops by Pakistan.
The bastards were even using Diplomatic channels to smuggle FICN into India.
Just like they smuggled weapons on board the IC-814 in Kathmandu, btw. Google it if not aware.
Here is one more resource on the impact of Demonetisation. The ‘suicide’ by Khanani was just a small part of the actual impact on Pakistan terror machinery in particular, and their worthless economy in general.
Do watch this video in the tweet below if you have time!
Unsurprisingly, though sadly, this video in the tweet below on how rattled #Bhikharistan was due to demonetisation is no longer there on YouTube!
As I conclude this chain of thoughts, all I will say, even if at the cost of repetition, is that there are a thousand such stories that remain untold due to various factors.
These are the very history of our Nation & deserve to be told so that we don’t suffer over and over again.
Here is a short thread I had written on the topic some months ago. Must go thru it.
It is quite doable.
And I am glad to note that it is already happening in some respects, both by the film industry as well as by the NCERT.
Need to be unabashed in doing so.
As far as the bleeding-heart liberals and their really genuine tears about the well-being of Pakistan goes, all I will say is ‘Cry some more!’.
Especially since atleast one of the perpetrators of today’s terror attack in Australia seems to be a Pakistani : Link
(Disclaimer: Apparently, he was not a Pakistani. Instead he was an Indian from Australia whose son (i.e. the other attacker) had his driver’s license photo taken wearing the jersey of Pakistan Cricket Team)
In the end, I will just leave a couple of tweets on the issue of #Dhurandhar that deserve to be seen far and wide.
This one echoes my sentiments perfectly.
Now they cry as they are aggressively sidelined.
This one about how #Dhurandhar is actually being celebrated .. not just for the fact that it is an excellent and watchable movie, but also for the fact that it has caused severe heartburns in many columns.
Heck, even as some on our own side are crying about the true depiction of Pakistan in #Dhurandhar, Pakistanis themselves are thrilled at seeing their shithole of a country being the setting for an Indian film!
I will also add this thread here that talks about films and influence operations.
In the end, all I’ll say is that #Dhurandhar is a really really well made movie and a MUST WATCH, especially for the younger generation.
I look fwd to the next part. Hoping to see Khanani get ‘suicided’ in that one!
And I will leave this tweet here!
:FIN:
Harpreet's Blog 