'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' | Party agenda brazenly packaged as nationalism

In countries with strong militaries and ongoing conflicts with their neighbours, spy thrillers are often crafted to evoke nationalistic sentiment by depicting “enemy” nations in a negative light.

These films are generally one-sided, and sometimes, to soften the narrative, they include a few emotional elements around the killings that drive a major part of the story.

However, this sequel to ‘Dhurandhar’ deviates even from such nationalistic fervour, which is already devoid of humane elements, and instead is an outright propagation of the ruling BJP’s agenda.

The movie begins with a flashback for Hamza, who is actually Jaskirat (Jassi) Singh from Punjab, India. Played by Ranveer Singh, Jassi seeks revenge for the murder of his father and the rape and murder of his sisters. Convicted of multiple murders, including that of an MLA, Jassi is abducted by Indian intelligence operatives. That is how he becomes an Indian spy in Pakistan.

The film continues from where the prequel left off — the killing of the Baloch leader and politician Rehman Dakait. Jassi proceeds to eliminate everyone who stands in the way of his mission: wiping out terrorist activities in that part of Pakistan. Ultimately, he emerges victorious.

In this one-sided film, killings are depicted like sequences in a video game. Some scenes are so gruesome — for instance, a character beheads another and plays football with the head — that it looks like the director’s intention is only to create a spectacle that pushes the audience towards extreme right-wing politics.

Aditya Dhar’s propaganda goes as far as depicting the Modi government’s failed demonetisation as a masterstroke that disrupted terror financing networks. The film portrays Pakistan’s ISI and terror outfits as having funded several Indian elections to bring favourable parties to power. Elsewhere, it shows Pakistani terror outfits funding Kashmiri dissidents, Punjabi separatists, and Naxals, among others.

This kind of narrative has long been central to extreme right-wing politics in India. The film intensifies this by incorporating Sikh separatist characters into the story. The intelligence chief, Ajay Sanyal (R Madhavan), portrayed as the mastermind behind India’s operations in Pakistan, draws parallels with real-life National Security Advisor Ajit Doval through his mannerisms and attire. And he is shown as nothing short of a superhero.

Although right-wing propaganda was evident in the first part of ‘Durandhar’, its sequel makes it far more explicit. Like any other production mounted on a lavish scale, ‘Dhurandhar 2’ like its prequel is technically sound. However, the fight sequences come across as laborious.

In an era of political and religious jingoism, films like ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ attempt to amplify such sentiments. Expecting a nuanced take on intelligence operations from directors like Aditya Dhar may be unrealistic. However, it is deeply disappointing that popular actors have aligned themselves with the director’s divisive vision.

Films like this, which promote a political party in the name of the “nation”, are far more dangerous than those with purely nationalistic storylines, such as ‘Border 2’.

At least those films attempt a humanistic approach to the conflict. The sole intention of 'Durandhar 2' is to create hostility towards “enemy” countries, a particular religion, and a political ideology. It presents a distorted and skewed view of India’s history and politics.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH)