Released in December last year, Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna, became a massive box-office success and continues to generate conversation months after its release. Now, Swara Bhasker’s mother, film scholar Ira Bhaskar, has criticised the film’s political messaging. She said that the film is very violent, adding that its portrayal of Muslims and Pakistan reinforces stereotypes.
Swara Bhaskar’s mother slams Dhurandhar
Recently, Swara’s mother, Ira, appeared on an episode of Karwan e Mohabbat on YouTube, where she reflected on how storytelling in Indian cinema has evolved over the years.
She said, “There are filmmakers, for instance, let me give the example of the Dhurandhar, which is earning crores at the box office… This is an example of a film made by a filmmaker who is ideologically convinced by Hindutva and the ideology of Hindutva. A competent filmmaker and a very well-made film. But how is technique to be divorced from content?”
Ira continued, “It’s extremely violent. And its violence is at the service of a belief structure of an ideology that Muslims are very violent people. Pakistan is a very violent nation. You don’t see any normal Muslim (person) there. Everyone is a terrorist or a gangster. These kinds of perceptions about Muslims… It’s propagating this. It is being reproduced again and again. It’s ridiculous because it uses makeup in such a way that the character, the individuals who are playing those parts, look like the original (people). It’s a fiction film based on true events, supposedly. And it is selective as all these films are. It’ll only selectively choose what to put together in order to serve the ideology.”
After its release in December last year, Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar went on to make history, becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time. Despite the wide acclaim, the Aditya Dhar-directed spy thriller also sparked intense debate online, with some viewers branding it a “propaganda film.”
Several celebrities from the industry had also come forward at the time to defend the film. Filmmaker Karan Johar said that the film’s politics did not offend him; in fact, he thoroughly admired it. Shatrughan Sinha also quashed claims that Dhurandhar is a ‘propaganda film’ and called it an ‘absolute masterpiece.’ Anurag Kashyap also dismissed those calling Dhurandhar propaganda. He said that calling films ‘propaganda’ or ‘promotion’ is itself a form of propaganda. Equating such films with Marvel’s blockbusters, the filmmaker added, “Hollywood’s Marvel films propagate American supremacy, but no one criticises them from that perspective.”
About Dhurandhar
Helmed by Aditya Dhar, the spy action thriller is the first instalment of a two-part film series. It tells the story of an Indian spy infiltrating Karachi’s criminal and political underworld in Pakistan. The plot weaves together several real-life events involving geopolitical tensions, such as the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and events surrounding Operation Lyari.
Released on December 5, the film collected over ₹1300 crore worldwide and became the first Bollywood film to cross ₹1000 crore at the domestic box office. Its sequel is slated to release on March 19.
