Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap, a month after the mega blockbuster, Dhurandhar‘s release, has reviewed it. Writing it on the popular Letterboxd Reviews, the Gangs of Wasseypur makers praised director Aditya Dhar. Overtly pointing out a few propaganda elements, Kashyap did not fall short of praising Dhar for his perspective. He wrote there were two sequences he had a problem with, but if had to ‘argue about the politics of it’ he would call Dhar.
Dhurandhar, set in the Pakistan region of Baloch, hints at several clashes between the warring nations. From Pulwama to Pahalgam, the spy thriller places the ‘enemy state’ at the heart of Pakistan, inviting great praise from nationalist audiences. But, it invited backlash from Baloch leaders and as per reports, the re-release of an edited version was ordered by the I&B Ministry, too; muting a few words.
Anurag Kashyap on Dhurandhar
“A spy cannot be a spy if he doesn’t have hate and angst against the enemy state,” Kashyap began his review on the platform. Justifying the motivation behind the movie, Kashyap mentioned the two dialogues he had explicitly had a problem with. Recounting the dialogue from R Madhavan, he wrote, “I have two sequences that I have a problem with. Madhavan saying — ‘Ek din aisa ayega jab jo bff desh ke baare mein koi sochega’ — and another at the end when Ranveer says, ‘Yeh naya India hai.’”
He added further, “Take those two aside, it’s a good film. In fact, a brilliant film that is entirely set in Pakistan.”
‘It’s his politics’
Referring to Aditya Dhar, he shared that he had known him since he received the National Award for his film, Boond. He added, “It’s his politics. Genuine politics. Agree or disagree with it. Man is honest. Not an opportunist like others. All his films are about Kashmir.” Being a Kashmiri Pandit himself, Kashyap opined, the maker understood the atrocities. “He is a Kashmiri pandit who has suffered. Either you argue with him or let him be. Filmmaking is top-notch.”
He went on to mention films like The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and House of Dynamite, which are popularly known for their ‘Oscar-winning propaganda film’ image. “I ignored the two propaganda dialogues and loved the filmmaking and stubbornness of the filmmaker,” he added. Sharing that Ranveer Singh was his favourite performance from Dhurandhar, Kashyap ended his unfiltered opinion about the film.
