Dhurandhar Review: Ranveer Singh Roars Back in Aditya Dhar’s Explosive Action Thriller

Dhurandhar Overview

After a long two-year break, Ranveer Singh is back with a bang and nothing less than a powerful Dhurandhar, Aditya Dhar's action drama flick. The events of the film are set in India’s most unstable national crises of the 2000s and tell the story of the brave top-secret missions conducted by the Chief of Intelligence Bureau (R. Madhavan) Ajay Sanyal. With great hopes and big money, the question left is: has Dhurandhar met the debts?

Plot Summary

Ranveer Singh takes on the role of Hamza Ali Mazhari, an undercover agent who has to play on the front lines in a war against terrorism by taking apart a terror network in Lyari, Karachi. In the hope of getting information about upcoming terrorist attacks, Hamza enters the enemy territory and wins the confidence of gangster Rehman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna). Eventually, he gets to encounter the tyrant ISI Major Iqbal (Arjun Rampal), the one who is known as the Angel of Death. While all this is happening, Sanjay Dutt’s former SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan is on the task of getting rid of all the criminals in Lyari.

The tension is at its peak when Hamza is in between gang fights, political power struggles and is facing death. Will he manage to come back from the enemy territory and finish his mission without being discovered? The answers to these questions are revealed in an awesome second half of the film.

Performances

Ranveer Singh rules the screen as Hamza, combining raw intensity, charm, and emotional depth. His long hair and beard give him a rugged look, and his expressive eyes speak a lot, thus proving he is one of Bollywood’s best chameleons.

Akshaye Khanna does a career-defining role as Rehman, by being simultaneously grieving, raging, and unpredictable. Arjun Rampal is frighteningly evil as Major Iqbal, whilst Rakesh Bedi is outstanding as the clever politician. Sanjay Dutt brings in his usual style and comic timing which lightens up the film's seriousness a bit. Sara Arjun, who plays Hamza’s love interest Yalina, has a fair performance but is unable to make her presence felt against such powerful performers.

What Works

Dhurandhar ambitiously spans the watershed events of India - from the 1999 Kandahar hijacking of IC-814 to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks - offering a view into the country's secret service operations and the geniuses behind terrorist networks. The all-star cast works together as if they were meant for the roles, and the action scenes are unyielding, further increased by an electrifying background score that never lets the viewers stop for a moment.

The performance of Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna are the real cornerstones of the film; their acting is so engaging that it even lifts the narrative and keeps the viewers hooked.

What Doesn’t Work

Positively, the film has a good first half but on the other hand, it fails to maintain the expected pace and loses grip in the second half. With its running time of 214 minutes, the movie sometimes gives out an impression of being dragged and the climax lacks the energy that the buildup guarantees. The long duration might have been better suited to a web series format. Some scenes, like the glamorous item number starring Krystle D’Souza and Ayesha Khan, come off as artificial and out of context.

Verdict

In spite of the fact that the ending of Dhurandhar cannot be regarded as equivalent to its long marathon runtime, the thrilling action, constant suspense, and wonderful performances of the actors—especially that of Ranveer Singh—makes it a mandatory watch for the followers of the action genre. Ranveer Singh’s comeback is nothing short of spectacular as he again proves that the power of his acting is unchallenged in Bollywood.

Dhurandhar if you want to see good action, quality performances, and a peek into the secret Indian operations, it is the movie for you. Do not miss out on the possible sequel—a fun ride with even more excitement is guaranteed!