Dhurandhar


Dhurandhar is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Aditya Dhar. It is produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar, and Lokesh Dhar under Jio Studios and B62 Studios. The film features an ensemble cast including Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, and R. Madhavan, alongside several supporting actors. Serving as the first instalment of a two-part film series, it centres on a high-stakes covert counter-terrorism operation. The film follows an undercover Indian intelligence agent who infiltrates Karachi's criminal syndicates and political power structures in Pakistan in an effort to dismantle a terror network targetting India.
The film's storyline draws loose inspiration from multiple real-life geopolitical events and conflicts in South Asia, including the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and developments linked to Pakistan's Operation Lyari. Principal photography for Dhurandhar took place from July 2024 to October 2025 across multiple locations in India and abroad, including the states and union territories of Punjab, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, as well as Thailand. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Shashwat Sachdev, while cinematography and editing were handled by Vikash Nowlakha and Shivkumar V. Panicker, respectively. With a runtime of 214 minutes, Dhurandhar ranks among the longest Indian films ever produced.
Dhurandhar was released theatrically on 5 December 2025 and received mixed reviews from critics. Critical responses highlighted the performances, direction, cinematography, action sequences, musical score, and production design, while criticism was directed toward its extended runtime and pacing. The film also attracted controversy for its blending of fictional elements with real historical events, with some commentators describing it as propagandistic. Commercially, the film achieved significant box-office success, grossing over crore worldwide within three weeks of release. It subsequently emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film in India and second highest-grossing Hindi film worldwide at the time of its release. A direct sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, is scheduled for theatrical release on 19 March 2026.
The film was banned from theatrical release in several Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Despite an official ban on Indian films in Pakistan since 2019, Dhurandhar reportedly received approximately two million pirated digital downloads in the country.

Plot

On 30 December 1999, Minister of External Affairs Devavrat Kapoor and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Ajay Sanyal negotiate with terrorist Zahoor Mistry to release three terrorists and pay a US$10 million ransom in exchange for the lives of airline passengers held captive in Kandahar. Though Chief of R&AW K. S. Bhullar rejects Sanyal's proposal to infiltrate terrorist networks in Pakistan, Kapoor later authorises Sanyal's covert "Operation Dhurandhar" following the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.
Sanyal sends agent Hamza Ali Mazari into Pakistan via the Torkham border crossing in Afghanistan. In Lyari, Karachi, Hamza befriends Mohammed Aalam, a juice-shop owner, moves in with him, and works as a waiter while studying local gang politics. As a Baloch, Hamza can only align with the gang led by gangster Rehman Dakait and his cousin and deputy Uzair Baloch.
Hamza learns that a rival Pathan gang, led by Rehman's estranged father Babu Dakait, plans to kill Rehman's eldest son Naieem Baloch. Babu's men attack a wedding attended by Naieem and his younger brother Faizal; Hamza saves Faizal, but Naieem is killed. At the hospital, Rehman and Uzair note Hamza's firearm skills and recruit him. Jameel Jamali of the Pakistan Awami Party urges Uzair not to retaliate before the Lyari election, but Hamza encourages revenge. Rehman's gang massacres Babu's men, and Rehman personally kills Babu with a weighing stone, proclaiming Baloch dominance over Lyari.
At a PAP rally, Hamza meets Jameel's daughter Yalina and begins a relationship with her. Rehman is introduced to Major Iqbal of the ISI by the Khanani brothers, businessmen pushing him into politics; Iqbal requests weapons and ammunition. Hamza learns about Iqbal's counterfeit-currency operation and witnesses him brutally torture an Indian spy. Hamza relays this to Aalam, who informs Sanyal; the IB suspects Pakistan possesses Indian currency plates. While transporting weapons, Hamza uncovers plans for a major terror attack on India and alerts the IB.
Rehman's alliance with the Khananis marginalises Jameel politically. Backed by Major Iqbal, Rehman enters politics and declares an alliance between his People's Aman Committee and the PAP of Aquib Ali Zarwari. Jameel responds by recruiting suspended Superintendent of Police Chaudhary Aslam to eliminate Rehman, leading to the formation of the Lyari Task Force. Aslam arrests Rehman during a weapons run. Hamza counters by sending Jameel a video—recorded by Yalina—exposing Jameel's collusion with Aslam and gangster Arshad Pappu. When Aslam refuses to release Rehman, Hamza forces compliance by livestreaming himself and Uzair torturing captured task-force officers.
Despite Hamza's intelligence, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack occurs. Traumatized, Hamza and Aalam resolve to dismantle Pakistan's terror infrastructure. Hamza secretly proposes to Jameel that, by marrying Yalina, he will rule Lyari while granting Jameel lasting influence. He then conspires with Jameel and Aslam to eliminate Rehman. At Hamza and Yalina's wedding, Major Iqbal requests another weapons shipment. Exploiting Rehman's drunkenness, Hamza schedules the delivery to coincide with another engagement, creating an ambush opportunity. The day of delivery, Hamza sends Uzair to the shipment site while driving Rehman to Aslam's trap. Rehman realises the betrayal mid-journey; a violent struggle follows, ending in a crash. Hamza escapes, kills two of Rehman's henchmen, and helps Aslam subdue Rehman, who later dies from his injuries in the hospital.
Hamza's real identity is revealed to be Jaskirat Singh Rangi, an Indian death-row inmate turned covert operative for Ajay Sanyal. With Rehman eliminated, he consolidates power in Lyari and prepares to target "Bade Sahab," the architect of multiple Pakistani terror attacks.

Cast

Production

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Shashwat Sachdev, in his second collaboration with Aditya after Uri: The Surgical Strike. The songs featured lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. Justin Jose served as the re-recording mixer for the film. The music rights were acquired by Saregama.
The title track was released on 15 October 2025. Featuring vocals by Hanumankind and Jasmine Sandlas, it is a remake of the 1995 Punjabi-language song "Na Dil De Pardesi Nu" sung by Muhammad Sadiq and Ranjit Kaur, composed by Charanjit Ahuja and written by Babu Singh Maan. The second single titled "Ishq Jalakar " was released on 25 November 2025, ahead of its schedule due to high public demand. This song was a recreated version of the Hindi Qawwali "Na To Karvan Ki Talash Hai" from Barsaat Ki Raat, sung by Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, S. D. Batish & Mohammed Rafi, composed by Roshan and written by Sahir Ludhianavi. The third single "Gehra Hua" was released on 27 November 2025. The full album was released on 1 December 2025. The extended album with five additional songs was released on 10 December 2025.

Marketing

A first-look poster and a teaser were released on 6 July 2025, coinciding with Singh's 40th birthday. The teaser featured vocals by Jasmine Sandlas and Hanumankind. The trailer was originally scheduled to release on 12 November, however it was postponed due to the 2025 Delhi car explosion. Later, it was released on 18 November 2025 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. The teaser and trailer were edited by Ojas Gautam, director Dhar's brother-in-law, who also served as a second unit director for the film. The audio launch took place on 1 December 2025.
While promoting the film at the 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa, Ranveer Singh received backlash for mimicking a sacred deva ritual, which some people found to be disrespectful towards the Bhoota Kola tradition of the Tulu people. He later issued a formal apology. Later, in January 2026 an FIR was also filed against Singh for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments.

Release

Theatrical

Dhurandhar was released on 5 December 2025. The film received an A certificate from the CBFC for strong violence, along with a finalised runtime of 214 minutes after some violent visuals and profanities were censored. It was received well in North America crossing over USD 2 million in its first weekend and continued to perform well across the US, UK, Australia and parts of Europe, helping it top ₹200 crore in overseas markets. The film was de facto banned across the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
On 31 December 2025, the distributors replaced the film's Digital Cinema Package across India with an altered version. The changes included muting words like 'Baloch' and 'intelligence' after they were 'found to be offensive to certain communities'. Previously, the filmmakers received a legal notice from members of the Baloch community, which accused them of defaming the Baloch. Objections were raised in particular to a line "You can trust crocodiles but not the Baloch".

Home media

The digital streaming rights for both parts were acquired by Netflix for ₹130–285 crore. The film began streaming on Netflix from 30 January 2026 in Hindi and dubbed versions of Tamil and Telugu languages.
The film was reported to have received 2 million pirated digital downloads within a week in Pakistan, becoming the most pirated film in the country where Indian films have been banned since 2019.