Tharoor calls ₹3,100 cr Dhurandhar sequel superb but flawed
Shashi Tharoor reviews Ranveer Singh's ₹3,100 crore Dhurandhar franchise: he calls the sequel superb but flags excessive violence and propaganda.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has watched both parts of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise, and his assessment is far from one-note. In a nearly seven-minute video on his YouTube channel, he praised the sequel as a work of entertainment but also argued that the films lean too heavily on graphic violence, political messaging and an unrealistic portrait of intelligence work. The two instalments, released in December 2025 and March 2026, have reportedly collected more than ₹3,100 crore worldwide.
A sequel he admires, with a warning attached
Tharoor was clear that Dhurandhar: The Revenge worked better for him than the first chapter. As fiction and entertainment, he said, “there is no doubt that the second part is superb.” The praise extended to the franchise’s visual scale, production design, sets, direction and performances.
But the politician quickly added that the same visual intensity became a problem. He described the films’ bloodshed as “totally excessive and over the top” and said there was no need to show such cruelty, including what he called some of the most disturbing scenes in Indian cinema.
The violence and the politics
Tharoor’s bigger reservation was not just about what the films show, but what they seem to say. He spoke directly about the propaganda debate around Dhurandhar and its portrayal of India-Pakistan relations. He noted reports that the films have faced bans in Pakistan and several Gulf nations over concerns they could create “bad blood” between Indians and Pakistanis.
- He called the graphic violence “totally excessive and over the top.”
- He questioned whether the propaganda in the story could shape how audiences see India-Pakistan ties.
- He suggested Pakistani viewers might laugh at some lines and reflect on others.
That last point is worth sitting with: the same scene that reads as patriotic to one audience can read as provocation to another.
Fiction versus the real world
Tharoor also separated his own experience from the franchise’s cloak-and-dagger world. He said his interactions with intelligence officials involved analysis, conversation and information exchange rather than dramatic covert operations. “That’s not the world I have ever lived in,” he said.
He took similar issue with R Madhavan’s character Ajay Sanyal, loosely inspired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The idea that one bureaucrat could hold the same position from the late 1990s to the present felt like “too much of a stretch,” he said, adding that the films should be seen as fiction that carries a lesson.
Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh alongside Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and R Madhavan.
What this means for fans
For an audience that tracks stars as closely as films, Tharoor’s review matters because it comes from outside the usual Bollywood echo chamber. It does not dismiss the franchise; it asks viewers to enjoy the spectacle while recognising that entertainment can carry a political message. The ₹3,100-crore box-office number shows the appetite is real. The review is a reminder that a big hit can still be debated, not just celebrated.
Source: Hindustan Times
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