Dhurandhar review: Ranveer Singh shines, but netizens have doubts

Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar - a sprawling, two-part spy thriller - arrived in cinemas on 5 December 2025. The film, produced by Jio Studios and B62, assembles a formidable cast led by Ranveer Singh alongside Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal and Sara Arjun. With a runtime reported around 214 minutes and an ‘A’ certificate for violence, the movie stakes a bold claim as one of the year’s most ambitious Hindi entertainments.

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Plot in a Pulse: From Punjab to Karachi

Dhurandhar follows a high-risk Indian intelligence operation that recruits and forges an unlikely asset - a volatile young man from Punjab - into a weapon to penetrate Karachi’s underworld. The narrative frames its fiction around real-life geopolitical flashpoints and covert operations, threading sequences inspired by incidents such as Operation Lyari and other cross-border gang conflicts. The film unfolds in chapters: recruitment, infiltration, and an escalating, often bloody confrontation with organised crime and state actors.

Ranveer’s Performance: Understatement with Teeth

Early critical and audience reactions emphasise that Ranveer Singh trades his usual pyrotechnics for a colder, more contained intensity. Reviewers and early viewers describe his turn as “subdued yet scorching” - a performance anchored by physical transformation and grim restraint that fuels the film’s darker current. The chemistry between Ranveer and Sara Arjun, and the supporting turns from veterans like Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna, are repeatedly singled out as cornerstones that lift the sprawling story.

Style, sound and the bruising heartbeat Aditya Dhar’s direction leans into a muscular sound design and a score that blends Punjabi rhythms with modern beats - elements many early reactions credit for giving the film its relentless momentum. Critics note that while the production occasionally leans on familiar tropes of the genre, the film’s immersive world-building, propulsive editing and committed ensemble keep it gripping across its long runtime.

How Netizens React to Ranveer's Performance?

While Ranveer Singh’s intense makeover in Dhurandhar impressed many, a wave of social media criticism questioned the depth of his performance. Some users felt his aggression overshadowed emotional nuance, calling it “style over substance.”

Others argued the character lost spark midway, affecting the film’s grip. Yet, even critical voices acknowledged the ambition behind the role, suggesting Singh’s performance was bold, if not universally convincing, in this moody spy thriller.

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Verdict Snapshot

Dhurandhar is cinematic muscle - uneven in places, but powered by a career-defining, disciplined Ranveer and a strong ensemble. For viewers who favour grit, political texture and muscular filmmaking, it delivers a fierce, if occasionally indulgent, ride.