New Bollywood movie divides opinions in India and Pakistan

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<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2005/live/575bbcc0-d66b-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Jio Studios A scene from Dhurandhar movie in which actor Ranveer Singh, wearing an unbuttoned shirt over a vest, and sporting a beard, is riding a motorbike, next to a river. Sitting on the pillion is actress Sara Arjun, wearing a black kurta and sporting aviator sunglasses" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Jio Studios Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy on a harmful mission in Pakistan

A brand new Bollywood spy movie is producing reward - and unease - in India and Pakistan for its contentious portrayal of the longstanding hostilities between the South Asian neighbours.

Dhurandhar, which hit cinemas final week, plunges audiences right into a high-octane world of espionage, gang wars and patriotic fervour.

Anchored by Bollywood star Ranveer Singh's swaggering efficiency as Hamza, an Indian spy on a dangerous mission in Karachi in Pakistan, the movie traces his battles towards legal networks, shadowy operatives and private demons - all framed towards the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions.

Whereas the action-packed sequences and riveting plot have earned reward from many viewers, the movie, directed by Aditya Dhar, has additionally provoked sharp debate over its political messaging and remedy of historic occasions.

Dhar first gained nationwide consideration in 2019 together with his debut Uri: The Surgical Strike, a dramatisation of India's 2016 airstrikes on Pakistan. The movie was a significant box-office hit and earned him a nationwide movie award.

Although Dhurandhar is simply his second directorial effort, he has co-written and produced different movies, together with final yr's Article 370- in regards to the 2019 revocation of Kashmir's autonomy - which was a significant success and earned reward from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dhurandhar, arriving months after the worst India-Pakistan army conflict in twenty years, sees Dhar return to the political-thriller style on a grander scale.

Lethal fights erupt in cramped rooms, gunfire rattles by way of crowded alleys, abandoning trails of our bodies, and torture scenes linger uncomfortably lengthy. The violence is graphic and filmed in tight, suffocating frames that heighten the sense of discomfort.

On-line, reward and criticism have flown in equal measure - some are impressed by the movie's cinematic ambition and exhilarating plot, others discover its hyper-nationalist tone and use of violence unsettling and inflammatory.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2dbe/live/4377f310-d669-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Jio Studios A scene from Dhurandhar movie. Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, grooves to the music as he enters a brick house, with bamboo ceilings. Two men wearing white robes, sleeveless jackets and turbans dance before him. Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh, wearing brown kurta and harem pants, and sunglasses, and sporting long hair and beard, along with another actor, sporting a thick beard and black turban, follow Mr Khanna through a corridor leading to the room with the dancers" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Jio Studios Most of Dhurandhar is ready in Karachi and claims to inform the story of the gang wars rampant there

The talk has grown so heated that some reviewers confronted backlash, with Dhurandhar supporters accusing them of judging the movie by way of political bias reasonably than cinematic advantage.

The Movie Critics' Guild, an affiliation of critics, issued an announcement this week condemning "the focused assaults, harassment, and hate directed towards movie critics for his or her evaluations of Dhurandhar".

However regardless of the polarised reactions, the movie has been drawing giant audiences and has already turn into one of many yr's largest hits.

The pattern isn't a surprise. Lately, Indian cinema has seen a surge in nationalist blockbusters that overtly reference authorities insurance policies and historic occasions.

Movies equivalent to The Kashmir Recordsdata and The Kerala Story have turn into main business hits regardless of sparking intense debates over their historic accuracy and political messaging.

Spy thrillers have additionally lengthy featured prominently, typically portraying Pakistan as the most important risk to India - a well-known trope rooted in a long time of geopolitical rigidity between the 2 international locations.

The makers of those movies argue that they resonate with audiences as a result of they tackle historic occasions and modern points typically missed by mainstream business cinema - delicate, polarising topics that contact on communal id, nationwide reminiscence and modern politics.

"My movies will not be political, they're of human curiosity," Sudipto Sen, director of The Kerala Story, instructed the BBC final yr. The 2023 movie claimed to inform the "true story" of Hindu and Christian ladies lured into changing to Islam and becoming a member of the Islamic State (IS) group.

However critics say such movies, with their outright fabrications of key occasions, are more and more blurring the road between leisure and propaganda, flattening advanced histories into oversimplified storylines.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/79ff/live/10a670f0-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="AFP via Getty Images A moviegoer walks past a poster of the film - The Kerala Story - at a movie theatre in Mumbai on May 10, 2023. The movie "The Kerala Story", accused of stoking communal hatred and propaganda against Muslims by critics has been defended strongly by the ruling right-wing Hindu government." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> AFP through Getty Photos Critics accused The Kerala Story of stoking communal hatred

Dhurandhar, which presents itself as an espionage thriller with an unflinching nationalistic tone, falls squarely inside this increasing style, says movie critic Uday Bhatia.

Even earlier than it was launched, the movie confronted authorized scrutiny after the household of a late military officer alleged that components of the plot have been based mostly on his life with out looking for permission. Dhar denied this and the movie was finally cleared by India's Central Board of Movie Certification as a piece of fiction.

But, the movie overtly weaves a number of real-life occasions and historic flashpoints into the story, together with information footage and actual audio recordings of the assault on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the 26/11 Mumbai terror assault.

Actually, the story begins with a reference to the 1999 hijacking of an Indian passenger aircraft.

We see India's intelligence chief Ajay Sanyal, performed by R Madhavan, reacting to the hijacking by vowing to strike Pakistan by itself soil.

So, he sends his finest man, Hamza, to destroy the alleged hyperlinks between Karachi's gangsters and terror networks, which, within the movie's telling, function with tacit assist from the Pakistan authorities.

Dhar's portrayal of Karachi is bleak: a sprawling, lawless metropolis the place kidnappings and torture are rampant and revenge killings between rival gangs unfold with unrelenting brutality.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9d7a/live/4c55fb70-d70f-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Jio Studios Aditya Dhar, who is dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, leans and talks to R Madhavn, who is wearing glasses and a grey suit with a blue tie, on the sets of Dhurandhar " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Jio Studios Dhurandhar director Aditya Dhar (left) with R Madhavan, who performs a major function within the movie

Some critics have criticised the mixing of actual gang histories with cinematic exaggeration. "The movie paints Pakistan as a lawless, virtually barbaric land that is pathologically hostile in the direction of India. It additionally frames the cross-border battle in non secular phrases," Mr Bhatia says.

However others really feel the depictions have been startlingly on level. "The place Dhar takes the most important swing is in his portrayal of Pakistan. It isn't caricatured, however surprisingly nuanced, particularly politically," writes Vineeta Kumar on India In the present day's web site.

It is not simply in India - there have been combined reactions to Dhurandhar in Pakistan too.

For many years, cultural exchanges have been restricted, with cinema typically the most important casualty. Pakistan banned Indian movies in 2019, whereas India continuously blocks Pakistani movies and music.

But Bollywood stays vastly well-liked in Pakistan and audiences typically use VPNs or obtain movies illegally.

In Dhurandhar's case, editorials - together with in Daybreak newspaper - criticised its damaging portrayal of Pakistan and lamented that native filmmakers typically neglect their very own historical past, leaving Bollywood to interpret the story.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6701/live/867768f0-d66c-11f0-91f5-0bd827601511.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Jio Studios A scene from the movie in which actor Sara Arjun is sitting on a sofa, wearing a white dress, and behind her there's a poster with the image of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Jio Studios A poster with former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto's picture in Dhurandhar

Critics additionally flagged factual inaccuracies, such because the depiction of Karachi's Lyari gang - usually concerned in extortion, kidnappings, and drug-trafficking - being solid into cross-border tensions with India.

Content material creator Bilal Hussain, who grew up in Karachi, mentioned he was shocked the gang was portrayed in any respect, although he added that the movie's motion, performances, and music might nonetheless be appreciated regardless of its "propaganda".

The sharpest criticism got here from the Pakistan Peoples Occasion (PPP), which guidelines the Sindh province, to a scene that includes a fictional PPP rally, full with celebration flags and pictures of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.

A celebration chief known as the movie a "malicious distortion" that sought to painting the PPP as sympathetic to militants.

Regardless of its inaccuracies, commentators say the movie, like many earlier than it, is unlikely to dent Bollywood's recognition in Pakistan, which lacks a comparable native movie trade.

The sentiment is considerably echoed in India as properly, the place many viewers reject the political debates across the movie, saying they watched it purely for leisure.