The two installments, released in December 2025 and March 2026, have reportedly collected more than ₹ 3,100 crore worldwide. Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has praised Ranveer Singh ’s Dhurandhar films for their filmmaking and performances, but he has reservations about the violence and political messaging in the franchise. However, he felt several violent scenes were unnecessarily graphic and questioned how the films portray India-Pakistan relations.
After watching both parts of Aditya Dhar ’s spy thriller, the politician said he enjoyed the sequel Dhurandhar: The Revenge more than the first film.
Shashi Tharoor says Dhurandhar 2 is better than the first film
he was critical of the violence shown in the franchise While he appreciated the sequel as a work of entertainment. “Things that I don’t like; there is far too much gruesome violence. It was totally excessive and over the top. Dhurandhar follows an undercover intelligence operative Jaskirat Singh Rangi alias Hamza Ali Mazari, with the story featuring secret missions and high-stakes operations. He explained that his experience involved discussions, analysis and sharing information, rather than the dramatic, covert operations depicted on screen. Shashi also questioned the timeline surrounding R Madhavan’s character Ajay Sanyal, who is loosely inspired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He found it difficult to accept the idea of a single bureaucrat holding the same position from the late 1990s to the present day, and stressed that the story should be viewed as fiction. “I think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that’s true.
He felt the filmmakers could have told the story without relying on so many disturbing scenes. “There was no need to show so much violence, blood, mayhem, cruelty and some of the most disgusting scenes ever seen in Indian cinema,” he added, describing the graphic content as “totally excessive and over the top. There was no need to show so much of violence, blood and mayhem, cruelty and some of the most disgusting scenes ever seen in Indian cinema,” he said. “There is a lot of propaganda stuff built into it obviously and I gather the film has been banned in many countries, not just in Pakistan, but many of the Gulf countries have banned it, saying it would needlessly create bad blood between Indians and Pakistanis, so I can understand those feelings,” the politician added. Shashi said his own interactions with intelligence officials had been very different from what the films show. So I would see this as a fictional film that tells a story which obviously is meant to impart a certain sense of lessons as well,” he said. Looking back at the experience of watching both instalments, he said the films had left him with a sense of having witnessed something on a grand scale. “At the end of 8 hours, you feel you have been through a major cinematic experience,” he concluded.
