A Review of Dhurandhar: Revenge
Dhurandhar in common parlance means someone extraordinarily capable. We assume that Ranveer Singh playing Hamza on screen is the Dhurandhar. Well, he is not. Clue lies in literal translation. Dhur means burden or responsibility, and dhar means one who carries or bears. So Dhurandhar means one who carries the burden, or more idiomatically, one who shoulders great responsibility. If you still canāt guess, go and watch the Dhurandhar: Revenge.
The One Who Bears the Burden.
Actually the real burden lies with audience. What is your appetite for onscreen violence?
Movie is almost 3.43 hours long. And it is death and stunt all the way when it starts after 15 minutes or so. That makes entire work of Arnold Schwarzenegger put together into one movie and still falling short. It may come close to Keanu Reevesā John Wick but far more grotesque.
Aditya Dhar had a point to make to Hollywood. If they could do it Dhar could do it 10 times better. If Hollywood could choreograph battles, Dhar can choreograph several wars in one movie. Vehicles fly. Buildings blown or put to fire but not in that order. Burning train is a thing of past. Blowing trains is the new fad.
All those who criticised with adjectives like Testosterone, Toxic, Propaganda, Islamophobia. will have easier job. They can just write each word four times. Yes. Some reports say that critics emboldened Dhar and he reshot a few scenes to incorporate the Jihad theme of Pakistan. Remember this is official motto of Pakistani Army:
āJihad Fi Sabiullahā (Jihad on the way of Allah)
This is a movie about fighting Jihad violently. There is no subtlety in that any more. The likes of Rumi and Sherwani owe Dhar a thank you. They made him angrier and the movie better.
The Dhurandhar
If you are patient and watch through entire movie, its last chapter is called Dhurandhar and it reveals many new avatars of characters. No spoiler there. Watch yourself.
Dhar is a chivalrous gentleman. In this sequel too, the two women characters are portrayed with the same honour and agency as before. One slaps the protagonist. The otherā¦ā¦ā¦.
Sorry. No spoiler. Watch it yourself. A very emotional scene right in the midst of violent movie of decade also shows the lowly character of police officer.
The director who was accused of misogyny has now made two movies in a row that give women more dignity than the society his critics are defending. The accusation was always about the narrative not the movie.
The Danger
Real danger is that it breaks the prism of golden Islam. It breaks the myth that Pakistan is a country. No. It is a project which is rotten to the core. It is a project which is run by dishonest people to the core. Of course the project is jihad against India and to convert all Hindus of India and to rule āHindustanā. It is Gazwa-e-Hind.
This brute reality has silenced the critics now. They are stunned. How could someone say it aloud. The secret project is now in open.
I am surprised too. I had not expected it. Movies are not supposed to tell truth. Certainly not in words, deeds, conduct, and in visual presentation.
Jihad
Islamists want people to believe jihad as divine and jihadi as some superman. Cinema shows the person performing Jihad as human.
Jihad is debated intellectually. We are told that it is internal jihad but those who blow themselves up on roads know what it means. Ajmal Kasab believed that dead bodies of Jihadi will have fragrance until Rakesh Maria showed him the stinking morgue.
The entire ideological rosy picture of jihad depends on making it sacred, superhuman, beyond ordinary moral judgment. A murder by jihadi is a divine obligation. This makes murder beyond normal human accountability. It makes Jihadi a soldier entitled to kill innocent civilians.
Cinema shows reality in fiction. The jihadi has to run and sweat. He can be chased, mocked, and shot. He is a man in action. He can be examined, questioned, and rejected for his actions. Once the audience sees the jihadi as human, the sanctity cannot be restored by a press release or a grant-funded review.
This is why the critics were either Islamists or their know sympathizer. They share the common objective as stated in Holy book and for which project Pakistan exists
Their reaction to such films is not disproportionate at all. It is not about the specific scene or the specific dialogue. It is about something they can not say it in open. They can not openly support violence as Jihad but they can not condemn jihad. This is the dilemma of critics. They do not want any debate or discussion or display of teachings of holy book.
The Real Danger
This spoiler can not be helped. Anybody and everybody in Pakistan is available for use on right payment. Any politician or officer can be an agent of India. The payment could be anything from money to favour. Ranveer Singh uses everyone to seek his āRevengeā. Hence, the name of the movie.
The Dhurandhar 2 has pulled down the veil of critics. Their worst fear has come true. In Dhurandhar 1, they were afraid of truth. Now is the time to be terrified. Dhar has not only upped the ante but has overturned the table.
Pakistan is a society where people have bare minimum cognitive ability. People have no critical thinking ability and they can not distinguish between the fact and fiction. How will they react to a movie which creates doubts about every institutional leaderās credibility?
A society without critical thinking infrastructure cannot process ambiguity. It needs heroes and villains to be clearly labelled. What happens when a movie shows institutional leaders as compromised, corrupt, or operating in moral grey zones and people are reeling under severe inflation. Gas Cylinder has touched PKR 10,000/- today in Pakistan.
I do not have all the answers. But now I know the reason why critics were so much in pain. It was not possible to know without watching the movie. But I must tell you time flies by and movie is so well stitched that the duration does not matter.
It is a movie that breaks the āGoldilocks Fitna Managementā project inside Pakistan and therefore is a different order of threat entirely. A must watch movie.
Remember to wait till the last subtitles end in the movie. There is something during the subtitles too.
References:
- Let Me Say It Now by Rakesh Maria is a brave account of Mumbaiās most decorated officer.
- Holy Book: At-Tawbah 9:111, quran.com/at-tawbah/111
- Holy Book: https://quran.com
- Pakistan Army Motto: https://www.thedailyjagran.com/world/pakistan-army-motto-is-jihad-shocking-statement-by-top-pak-official-during-press-briefing-amid-rising-tensions-with-india-10236880
- Islam in Pakistan Army: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/islam-is-what-pakistan-army-lt-gen-said-after-operation-bunyanum-marsoos-101747124874775.html
- Counterpoint to Raza Rumi: https://sandeepbhalla.online/raza-rumi-the-critic-who-never-watched-the-dhurandhar-movie-and-the-pakistan-he-never-visited/
- New Face of Journalism-activism: https://sandeepbhalla.online/the-new-face-of-journalism-activism/
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