Aditya Dhar’s “Dhurandhar” duology has established itself as a pivotal turning point for Hindi cinema, signalling a significant change in Bollywood’s thematic preoccupations and ideological positions. The initial chapter, released in December 2025, turned out to be the top-earning Hindi film in India before being separated into two parts in the post-production phase. Now, with the sequel “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” actively dominating cinemas across the country, the intelligence-based narrative is set to solidify what numerous critics view as a concerning transformation in Indian popular cinema: the wholesale embrace of jingoistic narratives that deliberately pursue official support and leverage patriotic feeling. The films’ brazen conflation of entertainment and governmental messaging has reignited conversations around Bollywood’s relationship with political power, especially during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
From Intelligence Thriller to Political Manifesto
The storytelling framework of the “Dhurandhar” duology demonstrates a calculated progression from entertainment to political messaging. The first film strategically set before Modi’s 2014 electoral triumph, sets up its ideological framework through protagonists who consistently express their yearning for a leader willing to take decisive action against both foreign and domestic threats. This temporal positioning allows the narrative to present Modi’s subsequent rise to power as the solution for the country’s aspirations, converting what seems like a standard espionage film into an elaborate endorsement of the ruling government’s approach to homeland defence and military aggression.
The sequel intensifies this ideological drive by presenting Modi himself as an near-constant supporting character through carefully positioned news footage and government broadcasts. Rather than allowing the fictional narrative to operate on its own, the filmmakers have interwoven the Prime Minister’s genuine appearance and rhetoric throughout the story, significantly erasing the boundaries between entertainment and official discourse. This deliberate narrative choice distinguishes the “Dhurandhar” films from earlier examples of Bollywood’s political positioning, advancing them from understated ideological messaging to direct state promotion that transforms cinema into a tool for political validation.
- First film prays for a strong leader before Modi’s election victory
- Sequel presents Modi as a supporting character through news clips
- Narrative merges fictional heroism with government policy endorsement
- Films blur the distinction between entertainment and state propaganda deliberately
The Evolution of Bollywood’s Ideological Shift
The box office performance of the “Dhurandhar” duology indicates a significant shift in Bollywood’s relationship with nationalist ideology and government authority. Whilst the Indian cinema sector has historically maintained strong connections to political structures, the brazen nature of these films constitutes a meaningful change in how overtly cinema now channels state communications. The franchise’s box office dominance—with the opening film emerging as the highest-grossing Hindi-language film in India upon its December release—demonstrates that viewers are growing more receptive to content that smoothly incorporates political propaganda. This acceptance indicates a fundamental change in what Indian viewers regard as acceptable cinematic content, moving beyond the understated ideological framing of earlier films towards explicit state advocacy.
The implications of this change extend beyond simple entertainment metrics. By attaining unprecedented commercial success whilst explicitly merging fictional heroism with political agenda, the “Dhurandhar” films have effectively legitimised a novel framework for Indian film production. Future filmmakers now possess a established model for merging nationalist sentiment with commercial success, potentially establishing propagandistic cinema as a sustainable and profitable genre. This evolution indicates broader societal transformations within India, where the boundaries between entertainment, nationalism, and state messaging have become less distinct, raising critical questions about cinema’s role in influencing political consciousness and sense of nationhood.
A Trend of Patriotic Cinema
The “Dhurandhar” duology does not appear in a vacuum but rather constitutes the culmination of a expanding movement within modern Indian film. The past few years have witnessed a proliferation of films employing nationalist messaging and anti-Muslim narratives, including “The Kashmir Files,” “The Kerala Story,” and “The Taj Story.” These productions share a common ideological framework that recasts Indian history through a Hindu-centric lens whilst depicting Muslims as fundamental dangers. However, what sets apart the “Dhurandhar” films from these predecessors is their better filmmaking craft and production values, which give their propaganda a sheen of artistic credibility that more artless Islamophobic films do not possess.
This distinction demonstrates especially problematic because the “Dhurandhar” two-film series’ technical sophistication and popular appeal mask its inherently ideological nature. Where films like “The Kashmir Files” function as blunt political instruments, the “Dhurandhar” series employs professional technique to present its political messaging palatable to mainstream audiences. The franchise thus constitutes a troubling progression: ideological content enhanced through sophisticated production into something approaching government-endorsed filmmaking. This sophisticated approach to political narrative may become increasingly impactful in influencing audience views than overtly provocative films, as audiences may embrace propagandistic material when it arrives wrapped in compelling entertainment.
Cinematic Technique Versus Political Communication
The “Dhurandhar” duology’s most pernicious quality lies in its marriage of production sophistication with nationalist ideology. Director Aditya Dhar demonstrates impressive command of the action-thriller format, crafting sequences of visceral intensity and plot propulsion that engage audiences. This technical competence becomes concerning precisely because it serves as a medium for ideological messaging, converting what might otherwise be blunt political content into something far more compelling and influential. The films’ polished aesthetic, sophisticated cinematography, and strong performances by actors like Ranveer Singh lend credibility to their inherently polarizing narratives, rendering their ideological messaging more palatable to mainstream viewers who might otherwise spurn blatantly incendiary messaging.
This combination of creative excellence and ideological messaging establishes a unique challenge for film criticism and cultural commentary. Audiences frequently struggle to separate artistic enjoyment from political analysis, especially when entertainment appeal demonstrates genuine appeal. The “Dhurandhar” films leverage this conflict deliberately, banking on the idea that audiences engaged with 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, allowing their nationalist ideals to spread more extensively and influence public consciousness more effectively than earlier, more simplistic examples 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 |
- Technical excellence transforms propagandistic content into popular media
- Sophisticated filmmaking masks political messaging from critical scrutiny
- Cinematic craft elevates nationalist rhetoric past raw inflammatory speech
The Concerning Ramifications for Indian Cinema
The commercial and critical success of the “Dhurandhar” duology suggests a worrying trajectory for Indian cinema, one in which nationalistic sentiment increasingly determines box office performance and cultural relevance. Where once Bollywood served as a forum for diverse narratives and alternative standpoints, the rise of these patriotic suspense films suggests a reduction 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 mirrors wider social division, yet cinema’s distinctive ability to shape collective imagination means its ideological leanings carry considerable importance in shaping popular opinion and political attitudes.
The implications go further than simple entertainment preferences. When a country’s cinema sector regularly generates stories that celebrate state power and vilify external enemies, it runs the danger of calcifying public opinion and restricting meaningful dialogue with complex geopolitical realities. The “Dhurandhar” films demonstrate this danger by portraying their worldview not as one perspective among many, but as factual reality packaged with technical excellence and celebrity appeal. For critics and media analysts, this marks a pivotal turning point: Indian film industry’s evolution from sometimes serving government objectives to actively functioning as a propaganda machine, albeit one considerably more refined than its earlier incarnations.
Propaganda Disguised as Entertainment
The troubling nature of the “Dhurandhar” duology rests upon its intentional concealment of political messaging within layers of cinematic craft. Director Aditya Dhar crafts elaborate action sequences and character arcs that demand viewer engagement, effectively distracting from the films’ persistent advancement of nationalist ideology and uncritical belief in state institutions. The protagonist’s journey, ostensibly a personal quest for redemption, works at once as a exaltation of governmental power and military might. By incorporating propagandistic content throughout engaging narratives, the films achieve what cruder political messaging cannot: they convert ideology into spectacle, making audiences complicit in their own ideological conditioning whilst regarding themselves as merely entertained.
This strategy proves particularly effective because it functions beneath conscious awareness. Viewers captivated by thrilling set pieces and intimate character scenes internalise the films’ core themes—that strong-handed government action is required, that adversaries lack redemption, that individual sacrifice for national priorities is worthy—without recognising the manipulation at work. The sophisticated cinematography, powerful acting, and real technical skill add legitimacy to these narratives, allowing them to look less like ideological material and more like true storytelling. This surface credibility enables the films’ polarising worldview to penetrate general understanding far with greater success than explicitly provocative content ever could.
What This Means for Global Audiences
The global popularity of the “Dhurandhar” duology raises a concerning pattern for how state-aligned cinema can transcend geographic borders and cultural contexts. As streaming platforms like Netflix release these films globally, audiences in Western nations and beyond encounter advanced propagandistic content wrapped in the familiar language of espionage thrillers and action cinema. Without the cultural and political literacy needed to interpret the films’ nationalist rhetoric, international viewers may inadvertently consume and legitimise Indian state ideology, effectively extending the reach of propagandistic narratives far outside their intended domestic audience. This globalisation of politically sensitive material raises urgent questions about platform accountability and the ethical implications of distributing state-sponsored cinema to unsuspecting international audiences.
Furthermore, the “Dhurandhar” films create a troubling template that rival states might attempt to emulate. If state-sponsored filmmaking can attain both critical recognition and commercial success whilst advancing nationalist agendas, rival administrations—particularly those prone to authoritarianism—may acknowledge cinema as a exceptionally influential tool for the spread of ideology. The films illustrate that propaganda need not be crude or obvious to be effective; rather, when coupled with genuine artistic talent and substantial budgets, it becomes virtually unavoidable. For worldwide audiences and film critics, the duology’s success indicates a troubling outlook where entertainment and state messaging become ever more difficult to tell apart.
