Aditya Dhar’s “Dhurandhar” duology has established itself as a landmark achievement for Hindi cinema, indicating a dramatic shift in Bollywood’s subject matter focus and political allegiances. The opening film, unveiled in December 2025, became the biggest box office success in India prior to being divided into two parts during post-production. Now, with the second instalment “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” presently commanding cinemas throughout the nation, the intelligence-based narrative is poised to cement what many observers regard as a troubling shift in Indian mainstream film: the comprehensive adoption of patriotic-inflected tales that explicitly court state approval and leverage national pride. The films’ overt blending of commercial entertainment and state narratives has reignited debates about Bollywood’s relationship with political power, notably under PM Narendra Modi’s administration.
From Intelligence Thriller to Political Declaration
The storytelling framework of the “Dhurandhar” duology reveals a calculated progression from escapism to political messaging. The opening instalment strategically set before Modi’s 2014 election victory, sets up its ideological framework through protagonists who consistently express their yearning for a figure prepared to pursue forceful measures against both external and internal dangers. This temporal positioning enables the story to frame Modi’s subsequent rise to power as the solution for the nation’s prayers, converting what appears to be a standard espionage film into an comprehensive validation of the ruling government’s approach to homeland defence and military aggression.
The sequel amplifies this propagandistic impulse by presenting Modi himself as an virtually ever-present supporting character through deliberately inserted news footage and government broadcasts. Rather than allowing the fictional narrative to stand independently, the filmmakers have interwoven the Prime Minister’s real likeness and rhetoric throughout the story, significantly erasing the boundaries between entertainment and official discourse. This calculated narrative approach distinguishes the “Dhurandhar” films from earlier examples of Bollywood’s political alignment, elevating them from subtle ideological positioning to explicit governmental advocacy that transforms cinema into a instrument for political credibility.
- First film prays for a strong leader ahead of Modi’s election victory
- Sequel features Modi as a supporting character through news clips
- Narrative merges fictional heroism with government policy approval
- Films erase the distinction between entertainment and also state propaganda by design
The Transformation of Bollywood’s Philosophical Change
The box office performance of the “Dhurandhar” duology signals a profound transformation in Bollywood’s connection to nationalist thought and state power. Whilst the Indian film industry has traditionally upheld close ties with political structures, the explicit character of these films represents a qualitative shift in how directly cinema now channels state communications. The franchise’s box office dominance—with the first instalment becoming the highest-grossing Hindi-language film in India following its December launch—demonstrates that audiences are increasingly receptive to entertainment that seamlessly integrates political propaganda. This receptiveness indicates a fundamental change in what Indian audiences consider acceptable film content, progressing past the subtle ideological positioning of prior cinema toward explicit state advocacy.
The implications of this shift go beyond mere entertainment metrics. By achieving unprecedented commercial success whilst openly conflating cinematic heroics with governmental policy, the “Dhurandhar” films have effectively endorsed a novel framework for Bollywood production. Next-generation filmmakers now have access to a established model for blending nationalist sentiment with commercial success, potentially establishing politically-driven cinema as a viable and lucrative category. This evolution reflects larger cultural shifts within India, where the boundaries between cinema, patriotism, and official discourse have become less distinct, generating critical questions about the cinema’s influence in forming public awareness of politics and sense of nationhood.
A Pattern of National Cinema
The “Dhurandhar” duology does not emerge in a vacuum but rather represents the culmination of a growing trend within contemporary Indian cinema. The past few years have witnessed a surge of films utilising nationalist rhetoric and anti-Muslim narratives, including “The Kashmir Files,” “The Kerala Story,” and “The Taj Story.” These productions possess a shared ideological structure that reinterprets Indian history through a Hindu-centred perspective whilst portraying Muslims as existential threats. However, what sets apart the “Dhurandhar” films from these predecessors is their superior cinematic execution and production quality, which lend their propaganda a sheen of artistic credibility that more artless Islamophobic films do not possess.
This distinction demonstrates particularly concerning because the “Dhurandhar” duology’s technical sophistication and popular appeal obscure its inherently ideological nature. Where films like “The Kashmir Files” serve as blunt political instruments, the “Dhurandhar” series deploys filmmaking expertise to make its ideological content appealing to general viewers. The franchise thus constitutes a troubling progression: propaganda elevated through professional filmmaking into what resembles officially-backed production. This polished strategy to political narrative may become increasingly impactful in influencing audience views than overtly provocative films, as audiences may embrace propagandistic material when it is presented in absorbing narrative.
Filmmaking Artistry Versus Political Narratives
The “Dhurandhar” duology’s most troubling quality lies in its marriage of cinematic mastery with political radicalism. Director Aditya Dhar exhibits considerable mastery of the thriller genre, constructing sequences of visceral intensity and narrative momentum that enthrall audiences. This filmmaking skill becomes contentious precisely because it serves as a medium for nationalist propaganda, reshaping what might otherwise be blunt political content into something significantly compelling and influential. The films’ refined visual presentation, skilled camera work, and compelling performances by actors like Ranveer Singh lend credibility to their fundamentally divisive narratives, rendering their political message more palatable to wider audiences who might otherwise reject blatantly incendiary messaging.
This convergence of artistic merit and ideological messaging presents a unique challenge for cinematic analysis and cultural analysis. Audiences often find it difficult to separate aesthetic appreciation from political critique, especially when entertainment appeal proves genuinely compelling. The “Dhurandhar” films exploit this conflict intentionally, banking on the idea that viewers absorbed in exciting action scenes will absorb their embedded messaging without critical scrutiny. The danger intensifies because the films’ technical accomplishments grant them credibility within critical discourse, enabling their nationalist ideals to circulate more widely and shape public consciousness more effectively than cruder predecessors ever could.
| Film | Narrative Strength |
|---|---|
| Dhurandhar | Espionage intrigue with compelling character development and moral ambiguity |
| Dhurandhar: The Revenge | Political thriller capitalising on nationalist sentiment and state apparatus mythology |
| The Kashmir Files | Historical narrative lacking cinematic sophistication or narrative complexity |
- Professional quality transforms ideological material into mass-market content
- Polished production techniques conceals ideological undertones from close examination
- Film technique elevates nationalist rhetoric above crude inflammatory discourse
The Troubling Ramifications for Indian Film Industry
The commercial and critical success of the “Dhurandhar” duology suggests a concerning trajectory for Indian cinema, one in which patriotic fervor grows to influence box office performance and cultural relevance. Where once Bollywood functioned as a forum for multiple perspectives and competing viewpoints, the emergence of these nationalist action films suggests a narrowing of acceptable discourse. The films’ remarkable achievement indicates that audiences are increasingly receptive to entertainment that directly endorses state power and positions dissent as treachery. This shift demonstrates increased public polarization, yet cinema’s unique capacity to shape shared cultural consciousness means its political orientation carry particular weight in affecting political attitudes and political attitudes.
The ramifications extend beyond mere viewing habits. When a country’s cinema sector consistently produces stories that celebrate state power and portray negatively external enemies, it runs the danger of ossifying collective views and limiting meaningful dialogue with complex geopolitical realities. The “Dhurandhar” films demonstrate this threat by portraying their perspective not as a single viewpoint amongst others, but as objective truth combined with technical excellence and star power. For critics and cultural observers, this constitutes a watershed moment: Indian cinema’s transition from sometimes serving state interests to deliberately operating as a propaganda machine, albeit one far more sophisticated than its historical predecessors.
Propaganda Disguised as Entertainment
The troubling nature of the “Dhurandhar” duology rests upon its calculated obscuring of political messaging under layers of cinematic craft. Director Aditya Dhar crafts elaborate action sequences and character arcs that command viewer attention, successfully diverting from the films’ relentless promotion of nationalist ideology and unquestioning faith in state institutions. The protagonist’s journey, ostensibly a personal quest for redemption, operates concurrently as a glorification of governmental power and military might. By embedding propagandistic content throughout engaging narratives, the films achieve what cruder political messaging cannot: they reshape ideology into spectacle, turning audiences complicit in their own ideological conditioning whilst regarding themselves as merely entertained.
This strategy proves particularly compelling because it works beneath active perception. Viewers engrossed by gripping dramatic moments and poignant character development take in the films’ fundamental narratives—that forceful state intervention is required, that opponents cannot change, that individual sacrifice for national priorities is noble—without detecting the manipulation occurring. The polished camera work, powerful acting, and authentic craftsmanship lend credibility to these accounts, causing them to seem less like persuasive messaging and more like genuine narrative. This surface credibility permits the films’ polarising worldview to penetrate popular awareness far with greater success than explicitly provocative content ever could.
What This Means for Worldwide Audiences
The international success of the “Dhurandhar” duology presents a concerning pattern for how state-backed cinema can transcend geographical boundaries and cultural contexts. As streaming platforms like Netflix distribute these films worldwide, audiences in Western countries and elsewhere encounter sophisticated propaganda wrapped in the recognizable style of espionage thrillers and action cinema. Without the cultural and political literacy required to decode the films’ nationalist rhetoric, overseas audiences may inadvertently consume and legitimise Indian state-sponsored ideology, substantially broadening the reach of propagandistic narratives far outside their original domestic viewership. This worldwide distribution of politically charged content raises urgent questions about platform responsibility and the ethical implications of circulating state-backed films to unsuspecting international audiences.
Furthermore, the “Dhurandhar” films create a concerning template that other nations could try to emulate. If state-sponsored filmmaking can secure both critical acclaim and commercial success whilst furthering nationalist agendas, rival administrations—particularly those with authoritarian leanings—may recognise cinema as a uniquely powerful tool for ideological propagation. The films demonstrate that propaganda doesn’t need to be crude or obvious to be effective; rather, when paired with authentic creative talent and substantial budgets, it becomes virtually unavoidable. For global audiences and film critics, the duology’s success suggests a troubling outlook where entertainment and government messaging become progressively harder to distinguish.
