Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna Anchor Aditya Dhar’s Lengthy, Loaded Spy Thriller

▶ Plot and True Inspirations → ▶ Dhurandhar Review: Critical Reception → ▶ Box Office Stardom → ▶ The Journey Continues →

The much-anticipated 2025 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller, Dhurandhar (transl. Stalwart), helmed by writer and director Aditya Dhar, finally hit theatres on 5 December 2025,. With a massive running time of 214 minutes, making it one of the longest Indian films ever made, the movie arrived with high expectations and generated immediate buzz, quickly becoming the second biggest opener of 2025,,.

Produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, Dhurandhar is a high-stakes espionage saga inspired by real-life incidents, geopolitical conflicts, and covert operations carried out by India’s intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW),. The film draws specific inspiration from Operation Lyari, a crackdown on local gangs and crime syndicates in the Lyari area of Karachi, Pakistan,.

Plot and True Inspirations

The complex plot of the Dhurandhar movie is set against the volatile period following the 1999 IC-814 hijacking and the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. The story revolves around Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajay Sanyal (R. Madhavan), whose character is based on Ajit Doval,. Sanyal initiates a formidable mission to dismantle a powerful terrorist network based in Pakistan.

To execute this high-risk plan, Sanyal recruits Jaskirat Singh Rangi (Ranveer Singh), a 20-year-old from Punjab held captive for a revenge-driven crime,. Jaskirat is moulded into a weapon and sent to Karachi's ruthless underworld mafia, where he assumes the undercover identity of Hamza Ali Mazari,,. Key sections of the film follow Hamza’s infiltration into the gang of Rehman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna),. The ensemble cast also features Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal (as Major Iqbal, based on Ilyas Kashmiri), and Sara Arjun,,.

Dhurandhar Review: Critical Reception

Dhurandhar movie review reports indicate that the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics,.

What Critics Loved:

• Performances: The ensemble cast was widely praised, particularly Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna,. Ranveer Singh's portrayal of the spy, Hamza, was noted as a "subdued yet scorching" performance that largely grounds the film. Akshaye Khanna, playing the gangster Rehman Dakait, delivered "explosive brilliance" according to one review. Anuj Kumar of The Hindu noted that the film is "moored by a charismatic Akshaye Khanna and a brooding Ranveer Singh", .

• Technical Craft: Critics lauded the direction by Aditya Dhar, the cinematography, the music (composed by Shashwat Sachdev), and the film’s atmospheric world-building,. Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India called it a "power-packed Karachi mafia thriller" with "stylish, tight storytelling".

Areas of Criticism:

• Runtime and Pacing: The most common criticism aimed at Dhurandhar was its lengthy runtime of 214 minutes (over three and a half hours), uneven pacing, and occasional narrative inconsistencies,.

• Narrative Structure: While ambitious, some critics felt the film was "overlong and dense with too many sub-plots" . One reviewer noted that the second half felt like "a completely different film altogether", while another described the overall experience as "ambitious but overstretched and chest-thumping".

Despite criticisms regarding its length, many critics felt that the film's intense action sequences and performances made the journey worthwhile, .

Box Office Stardom

The commercial success of Dhurandhar defied its mixed review status, storming the box office.

• The film collected ₹27 crore net in India on its opening day (December 5, 2025),.

• The collections saw a significant jump on day two (December 6, 2025), earning ₹31 crore net by 10 PM, bringing the net domestic total to ₹58 crore,.

• This massive opening ensured that Dhurandhar surpassed the lifetime collection of Ranveer Singh’s 2022 film Cirkus (₹35.80 crore net) in just two days. It also surpassed the opening day numbers of the 2025 blockbuster Saiyaara.

The Journey Continues

Dhurandhar was always planned as a two-part series,. The film ends with a cliffhanger, and the post-credits scene sets up the sequel, Dhurandhar Part 2, which is scheduled for release on 19 March 2026,, .

The complexity of the narrative, covering true geopolitical events and covert operations, means that Dhurandhar is not just a standard action movie, but an intensive commitment for the viewer. It's like navigating a complex, multi-layered map; the journey is long and demanding, but the depth of the landscape and the explosive destinations make the exploration worthwhile.