Actor Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, which was banned in Pakistan and several Gulf countries during its theatrical run, has found an unexpected afterlife across the border. After becoming accessible to Pakistani audiences via its Netflix release, the spy thriller has now made its way into the country’s pirated markets, where copies are being sold at eyebrow raising prices.
Dhurandhar’s rage in Pakistan
Recently, New Zealand-based YouTuber Karl Rock took to social media to share a video documenting how pirated copies of director Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller are being openly sold in markets across Pakistan.
In the video, he is seen walking through bustling streets in Pakistan when he unexpectedly comes across pirated copies of Dhurandhar being sold openly. He was at Karachi’s Rainbow Centre.
“Indian films are banned in Pakistan, but look what I found, and this is a new film, yeah, from Hindustan,” Karl says while approaching a shop owner. He then shows a screen with the poster of Ranveer in Dhurandhar, with the shop keeper telling him that this is the most recent film.
The YouTuber then talks about Ranveer, saying, “I can tell you a thing or two about Ranveer Singh. He’s a Sindhi. His grandparents are from this city, I think, and they came across to India during partition.”
The video further captures him stopping to ask the shopkeeper about the price of the pirated copy, with the vendor readily quoting the amount on camera. He is told that it is for PKR 50 (approximately ₹16). “Bahut sasta (it’s very cheap),” Karl is seen exclaiming.
The video has quickly grabbed attention on social media, especially given that Indian films have remained absent from Pakistani cinemas for years amid the long-standing border tensions.
One social media user wondered, “Why so much hatred between the countries?”, with one writing, “The tension between India and Pakistan is ridiculous. Hopefully one day things will change.” “It was actually more of a hit in Pakistan than even India lol,” one shared.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Ranveer Singh-led espionage thriller made its place at No. 1 on Netflix’s global Top 10 non-English films list after its release on the OTT platform in January. The film was also No. 1 in both India and Pakistan.
Dhurandhar wins big
Dhurandhar released in theatres on December 5 last year, and has emerged as a massive hit. The film is led by Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Rakesh Bedi among others.
Set in Lyari town of Karachi, the Aditya Dhar film revolves around covert intelligence operations against the backdrop of geopolitical and terror events like the Kandahar plane hijack, the 2001 Parliament Attack and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Its sequel is set to release in theatres on March 19. The official Hindi teaser of Dhurandhar: The Revenge dropped recently. The film is positioned as a high-stakes continuation that expands the franchise’s espionage-driven universe. Dhurandhar 2 will clash at the box office with Yash’s pan-India film, Toxic.
