BEWARE OF VIGILANTE-
Critiquing a movie like Dhurandher is complex and fraught with perils of being misjudged . The social landscape and mood in the country is volatile enough to put one on the dock if it dares pass even a fleeting unfavourable comment upon certain things/issues perceived as sensitive or sacrosanct !
MASALA POTBOILER-
Now that most of adult India has probably seen this movie, the storyline needs no introduction. It has stirred up the audience in unexpected ways and created a mass frenzy by its songs, themes and dialogues going viral with funny memes flooding all social platforms.
My personal take is that DHURANDHER is a thoroughly enjoyable Bollywood masala entertainer replete with right dosage of action, thrills, romance, intrigues, vengeance etc . In essence, a delicious potpourri served with dollops of patriotic flavours, linking facts with fiction deftly.
THE SWAG & THE DAZZLE-
It’s USP is the brilliant acting by the all star ensemble cast, snazzy songs, taut screenplay and powerful direction by Aditya Dhar, the man of the hour! It brings Bollywood style panache and glamour to the real life gory, ruffian underworld with pedestrian looking dons and their sycophantic stooges.
An incredible story of real events- is the tagline.
‘Incredible’ should be the key word. How tantalising it’s to imagine us as an all too powerful nation capable of all the superman stuff!
It assuages the hurt and anger felt by the nation by creating an immersive experience into those turbulent times, and the catastrophic effects of terrorism unleashed upon India in the past couple of decades.
THE FACTS Transgress into FICTION-
Dhurandher has enough merits on its own to be a thoroughly enjoyable flick without lurking into the dark , dangerous and treacherous territories of neighbours to be a success.
Ranveer singh (the protagonist) could’ve very well been an undercover cop infiltrating an underworld gang aiming to incite gang wars leading them to their doomsday.
But then would it have been so impactful? Bashing in-house enemy can never match the adrenaline rush felt while checkmating the 'outsiders'!
Hence the cross-over between the turmoil in Lyari area of a hostile neighbour and terror activities in India that time.
Clever juxtaposition of simultaneous events in 2 neighbouring countries with no verifiable facts to connect the 2, creates a tense atmospheric trance for the audience drawing it into a vortex of known facts, unknown variables, guessing games, and ultimately getting consumed by the cinematic splendour of the movie.
THE ORGANIC SUCCESS-
Opening to decent figures at box office and jumping onto the gigantic amount of success is a testament to the strong foothold of word of mouth/ internet chain reaction , publicity when it comes to the world of entertainment.
It comes organically and insidiously. You want to see it , if not for a personal preference, then to be able to chat, opine, to relish the flavour of the month/ year, whatever one may label it as! FOMO syndrome works overtime.
TREADING ON THIN ICE-
Dhurandher’s box-office juggernaut, growing from strength to strength and minting unprecedented moolah, is a revelation for movie watchers and the critics.
The film may not qualify as a landmark that redraws the contours of Hindi cinema, but it is unmistakably the culmination of a popular narrative that has been simmering beneath the surface for over a decade. What once crept along quietly has now found a wide opening to erupt; volcanic, spectacular, and irresistible in its scale.
One can only hope that this lava dazzles from afar without scorching our collective reason, empathy, and sanity.
