Responses to Dhurandhar, Bollywood’s newest movie selling an anti-Pakistan narrative, have been divided in India and Pakistan alike. Though some viewers conceded that the movie is technically completed, many have been unconvinced by its shiny, high-budget therapy, viewing it as a substitute as one other try by Indian cinema to painting its neighbour in a hostile and unfavourable gentle.
Actor Imran Abbas added his voice to the rising debate, when he shared a message on Instagram criticising the filmmakers for, in his phrases, decreasing cinema to “a car of hatred, hostility and division.”
Abbas harassed that his objection was not rooted in nationalism or rivalry between India and Pakistan, however in what he described as the damaging exploitation of artwork itself. Cinema, he wrote, ought to elevate the human spirit, not inflame prejudice or sow discord.
In a sequence of remarks, the actor emphasised that artwork is supposed to encourage empathy and understanding. “Cinema ought to construct bridges, not glorify prejudice,” he mentioned, including that whereas hatred packaged as artwork could generate income and applause within the quick time period, it leaves lasting emotional and social injury in its wake.
Abbas, who has himself labored in Bollywood productions, underlined the immense affect of storytelling, noting that narratives repeated on display screen step by step seep into society’s collective consciousness. For that purpose, he argued, artists carry an moral duty that goes past field workplace success.
Earlier, Abbas had expressed related views on Fb, the place his tone was sharper. He criticised Pakistanis who watched and praised the movie, calling their response “deeply shameful.”
He argued that if Pakistan have been to provide a comparable movie focusing on India, there would possible be widespread outrage throughout Indian society – a response he described as each comprehensible and justified.
Dhurandhar, he mentioned, metaphorically “slaps us within the face and calls it leisure,” and applauding such content material shouldn’t be mistaken for open-mindedness. As a substitute, he labelled it a lack of dignity, self-respect and ethical readability.
Abbas’s feedback have resonated with many who imagine that artists and filmmakers have an obligation to contribute positively to society. He’s additionally proper, many say, to recall a not-so-distant previous when Indians and Pakistanis related by means of shared music, movies and cultural traditions, discovering widespread floor regardless of political tensions.
The broader concern, nevertheless, extends past a single movie. Critics level to what they describe because the growing radicalisation and politicisation of sections of India’s media and leisure trade.
On this setting, demonising complete communities — together with thousands and thousands of Pakistanis and India’s personal Muslim residents — is usually normalised and even celebrated underneath the banner of nationalism. Historic occasions are selectively reinterpreted, fictional narratives are introduced as actuality, and disclaimers resembling “impressed by true occasions” are used to lend credibility to divisive storytelling.
For a lot of observers, Dhurandhar is much less an remoted case and extra a symptom of a troubling pattern – one by which cinema, as soon as a bridge between cultures, dangers turning into a software that entrenches worry, hostility and misinformation.
In the meantime, the Sindh authorities has introduced the discharge of a brand new movie, ‘Mera Lyari’, as a counter to the Indian film Dhurandhar.
Senior Provincial Minister for Info Sharjeel Inam Memon mentioned the Bollywood movie is a part of a broader conspiracy towards Pakistan, significantly focusing on Lyari. “Lyari shouldn’t be violence — it’s tradition, peace, expertise, and resilience. Subsequent month ‘Mera Lyari’ will launch, exhibiting the true face of Lyari: peace, prosperity, and satisfaction,” he wrote in a publish on social media platform X.
Memon emphasised that Dhurandhar seeks to misrepresent Lyari, which he described as an emblem of cultural richness and social concord. He added that the upcoming Sindhi-language movie goals to current town’s actuality to each native and worldwide audiences.
Earlier, a constitutional petition was filed in a Karachi court docket towards Dhurandhar for unauthorised use of pictures of the late Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistan Peoples Celebration (PPP) flag, and occasion rally footage in its trailer. The petition additionally accuses the movie of portraying the PPP as supportive of terrorists.
The petition was filed by PPP activist Muhammad Amir within the District and Classes Courtroom (South) in Karachi. It seeks an FIR towards the movie’s director, producers, actors, and different related workers concerned in creating and selling the film.
The petition names director Aditya Dhar, producers Lokesh Dhar and Jyoti Kishore Deshpande, and actors Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, and Rakesh Beni. It additionally lists cinematographer Vikash Nolcha, editor Shiv Kumar V Panicker, and different unnamed crew members as proposed accused.
Based on the petition, the official trailer consists of pictures of the late former prime minister and PPP visuals with out authorized permission. It alleges that the movie portrays the PPP as sympathetic to terrorists and labels Karachi’s Lyari space as a “terrorist conflict zone,” which the petitioner argues is defamatory, deceptive, and dangerous to Pakistan’s popularity.
Dhurandhar has triggered robust backlash since its launch for its portrayal of Karachi’s Lyari as a conflict zone. The Indian film options Ranveer Singh as a RAW agent, whereas Arjun Rampal performs a Pakistani intelligence officer.
