Arjun Rampal calls ‘Dhurandhar’ an ‘important film’

‘Dhurandhar’ may have surpassed Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Animal’ to become the highest-grossing A-rated Indian film worldwide, with a collection of over Rs 930 crore, but the Aditya Dhar directorial appears to have outdone it not just at the box office, but also in controversy, headlines, criticism and ongoing debate over its alleged ‘propaganda’. While several critics, including YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, have labelled the film a ‘well-made propaganda’, Arjun Rampal, who plays the ISI chief in the film, believes it is an ‘important film’.

In a recent interview with ‘Grazia’, Arjun Rampal spoke about the psychological toll of portraying the character and said, “I wanted to get out of the character as soon as I could.”

Addressing the larger debate around the film being termed propaganda, Arjun explained, “One of the important reasons to do it was because it is an important film to do.” Elaborating further, he added, “To see the event is one thing; what happened behind the scenes to see those events taking place is something that would excite me as an audience. I felt horrible when you’re doing it because you love your country so much, but I guess that’s what an actor’s job is and you just dive into it.”

‘Dhurandhar’, based on crimes in Pakistan’s Lyari region, portrays three major incidents - the Uri attack, the Mumbai terror attacks and the Kandahar hijacking. The makers introduce Ranveer Singh as a covert agent sent by India to infiltrate criminal networks in Pakistan and track movements against India. The film depicts several real-life figures and uses actual visuals and clips from multiple attacks carried out by Pakistan in India.

Arjun Rampal plays Major Iqbal, who is an ISI operative and the architect of the 26/11 attacks in India. His character is said to be based on Pakistani operative Ilyas Kashmiri. After the Mumbai attacks, David Headley Chase identified Major Iqbal as Chaudhry Khan during the case in a court in India. He had also called him the ‘mastermind’ behind the horrific attack.

While actors like Hrithik Roshan praised the film’s cinematic merit, they also ‘disagreed’ with its politics and questioned the responsibilities of filmmakers. This sentiment echoed the views of many who called the film ‘engaging’ yet equally ‘dangerous’, with some alleging that it gaslights audiences by blending facts with fiction and presenting it as a ‘gospel truth’.

Most recently, Aditya Dhar, for the first time, shared a cryptic post that appeared to take a dig at Dhruv Rathee’s video criticising the film. A story reshared by the filmmaker read: “A video maker tried to criticise it recently and got swept away by a wave of criticism against him.”