The Bollywood film 'Dhurandhar' has failed to capture the attention of the audience due to its excessive use of violent scenes and weak storytelling.
What you should know
Have you ever watched a pressure cooker explode? Imagine the devastation when a cooker explodes. The lid on one side, the cooker on the other. The food inside the cooker is scattered from the ceiling to the floor. Pieces of the cooker are everywhere. If a person were to explode like a bomb, how many pieces would he or she be divided into? How horrible would it be to see the body torn apart as the food inside spills out?
There are many such scenes in the currently popular Hindi film 'Dhurandhar'. Where people sometimes break into pieces like bullets and sometimes explode like a pressure cooker. There are so many scenes where people are killed like insects with bricks! However, director Aditya Dhar has shown those scenes in a very gruesome way. Some scenes are even unwatchable. This is the most disturbing aspect of the
film. It is true that Bollywood has not made such films. However, after Ranbir Kapoor's 'Animal', there seems to be a competition in the action genre as to who will show the most violent scenes like this. Ranbir Singh's 'Dhurandhar' is a continuation of that. Where such violent scenes are shown with exaggeration. It does not mean that such scenes cannot be shown in a
film. But the film also has the power to show that through creativity and art. However, director Aditya has not touched that beauty of art. Despite exaggerating the scenes of violence, this film is three and a half hours long. If the director had focused on the story, establishment of the characters and the story rather than exaggerating such action scenes, the film would have held the attention of the audience. In the
film, the scenes of violence are unnecessarily stretched. The story of the film is also not new. Enmity, revenge and patriotism between India and Pakistan. Aditya has added the world of the 'underworld' to it. The 'underworld' has also been focused on Pakistan. Anyway, like most patriotic Hindi films, 'Dhurandhar' also depicts Pakistan as a criminal arena. Violence, crime and gangsterism are all in Pakistan, while Indian citizens are always determined to protect the country. Director Aditya has shown the background of the 1999 Kandhar plane hijacking to show India's deteriorating relations with Pakistan. The story of 'Dhurandhar' starts from the incident where India had to release a notorious criminal to save an Indian citizen held captive by Pakistan. To take revenge for the plane hijacking and the subsequent deal, Indian Intelligence Chief Ajay Sanyal (R. Madhavan) sends Indian spy Hamza Ali (Ranveer Singh) into the Pakistani underworld.
Sanyal hatches this plan to force Pakistan to pay the price on its own soil by showing horrific scenes of various attacks on India along with the plane hijacking. Accordingly, Hamza reaches Karachi, Pakistan. With Hamza's entry into Pakistan, the story of the underworld and the gangsters there unfolds. However, the story of the film is incomplete when trying to connect many characters, many incidents and subplots.
Except for Ranbir and Rahman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna), the other characters are not well established in the film. The background of other gangsters in the underworld is not well revealed in the film. Hamza reaches the world of the underworld through Rahman Dakait. However, each gangster's story, business and political inclination are shown in parallel. However, no character is focused on the main story of the film.
The story is very incomplete when trying to say too many things at once. It is not clear which gangster is rising from which party. The background of the main character Hamza has also been made incomplete for the sequel of the film. At the end of the film, it is not shown where the girlfriend who is associated with him ends up, where the other gangsters end up. This kind of carelessness in storytelling was not expected from director Aditya, who has previously been involved in films like 'Uri' and 'Article 370'.
Director Aditya has not captured that sensitivity in the portrayal of Pakistan like in his previous films. Pakistan has been portrayed negatively in the same traditional style, linking it to every kind of insecure, violent and criminal activity. However, the interesting part is that the acting of the Indian artist portraying Pakistani characters in this film is an attempt to keep the audience hooked to the film.
Although Ranveer Singh, who has become a spy, sometimes reflects the 'Khilji' of Padmaavat, in his emotional and speech, Singh has proved himself to be adept at acting in most scenes that befits the character. Akshay Khanna's performance as a dangerous gangster like a dacoit is very powerful.
Arjun Rampal and R. Madhavan, who have appeared in short roles, have made those characters come alive on screen. Even though Pakistanis are portrayed very badly, these actors have played their characters well, which is the positive aspect of the film.
