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Introduction
13 December, 2025
Dhurandha Controversy: Spy films have been made in Bollywood for decades. These films are full of patriotism, foreign locations, high-octane action and handsome agents. However, watching ‘Dhurandhar’ it seems that this story and its characters are from another world. This film of Ranveer Singh and Akshay Khanna not only changes the face of the spy genre, but also tells the real story to the people. The story of ‘Dhurandhar’ is a slow but deeply affecting film. The special thing is that this film of Aditya Dhar is not in any kind of hurry. Well, as much as Ranveer Singh’s film is being liked wholeheartedly in India, it is getting equal hatred from Pakistan. There are many reasons behind this, but the biggest reason is that Liari, whose story is much older than the story of Dhurandhar, is thrilling.
The untold story of Liari
Lyari is an area of Karachi city of Pakistan, on hearing the name of which two things come to the mind of most people – old era gang war and fear. But this place is not just a story of violence, but a neighborhood that has sheltered people for centuries, cherished cultures and ultimately showed the courage to reinvent itself. Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller ‘Dhurandhar’ again focused people’s attention on this area. The film made Lyari of the 2000s its canvas and brought its streets, lanes, politics and gang war on screen. This is the same place which is called ‘Mother of Karachi’. Because it was settled even before this city was built. So how did a small dock worker locality gradually become the hub of so many gangs? And how today the same Liari is slowly changing her image?
How and who settled it?
Although not much detail is shown in the film, the history of Lyari begins in the 1700s. There was a small village of fishermen situated on the banks of the Arabian Sea. Boats, nets and business, this was the life of this place. Then came the British who modernized the port of Karachi around 1850 and business started growing. The need for labourers, fishermen and dock workers increased and people from far and wide started coming and settling here. At that time Makrani and Irani Baloch came and settled here, Kutchi community, some African people, Punjabi, Sindhi and later people of Pathan community also came and settled here. Not only this, after partition, Muhajirs, i.e. people who came from India, also settled here. Gradually this area became so congested that the roads started becoming smaller, the houses started shrinking and there was no facility left. Even after this Liari accepted everyone. But after 1947, Karachi became the first capital of Pakistan. Lyari was an old and strong area, but the resources here were very less. On the other hand, the government was also in no mood to pay attention to this area. The result was that both the population and poverty increased.
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era of gangs
Meanwhile, two gangs were formed in Lyari. These gangs did not commit violence on a large scale, but they started bringing drugs into the area and from here a dark chapter of Lyari started. Then in 1970, there was a turn in politics and Liari became a stronghold of PPP. When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came here for election campaign, people felt that finally a leader was listening to them. Benazir Bhutto even performed her Walima at the Kakri Ground here. Then in 1979 the Afghan war happened due to which a new threat started increasing. After this war, there was a flood of refugees in Pakistan. A large number of Pathans came to Karachi, many of them were good weapons. That means weapons came with them, drug smuggling increased, new gangs were formed, old gangs got stronger and Lyari gradually became the Wild West of Karachi. Then in the 80s and 90s they became a part of gang politics. Due to this the strength of the gangs started increasing. This gang culture gave birth to the environment on which the story of ‘Dhurandhar’ is based. In the 2000s, Lyari became the most dangerous area of Karachi. At that time, daily firing, kidnapping, drugs, gang war, everything was common here. This was the period when more than 3200 people were killed in gang war in Karachi in 10 years.
cleaning campaign
Then gradually international pressure started increasing on Liari. PPP had to distance itself from Rehman Dacoit’s People’s Peace Committee. You can see the story of Rehman dacoit in Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’. Akshay Khanna has played his role very amazingly. Well, after the pressure increased, the government sent rangers to Lyari and arrested more than 1 thousand gangsters. The government gradually cleaned this area for 10 years. Then in the year 2018, PPP also lost here and PTI won. However, Lyari is not just the story of gang war, it is also the locality from where Olympic boxer Hussain Shah, footballer Omar Baloch and Ghulam Abbas… scholar Waja Khair Mohammad Nadvi, bodybuilder Sikandar Baloch and today’s social media star Kaifi Khalil also come.
a new beginning
Gradually, when the bloodshed in Lyari reduced, the children here also started going to school. That means the people there are now forming schools, sports clubs, boxing, gyms and theater groups. A new wave of rap and hip-hop there shows that the new generation of Lyari wants to raise its own voice. Now let us know how true is the lie shown in ‘Dhurandhar’. Actually, the cinematography and art direction of the film captured the atmosphere of Lyari to a great extent. A slight relaxation is visible, but the emotion of the streets was captured perfectly in the film. ‘Dhurandhar’ has started a different kind of debate in Pakistan as soon as it was released on 5th December. By the way, this time the issue is not of India versus Pakistan, but of Pakistan versus Pakistan. Many Pakistanis are praising the film and at the same time lamenting the shortcomings of their own country. Pakistanis say that the story is ours, but someone else is telling it. At the same time, some people believe that the film is promoting Indian nationalism by distorting history. There is a debate about the film among the Baloch audience also.
Controversy started
People of Pakistan say that this was a local fight, where did India come into this? Ebad Ahmed, a Karachi-based journalist and researcher on Lyari, says that the real gang war was between local parties and gangs like PPP and MQM. India had nothing to do with it. Apart from this, the biggest controversy is being created in the film due to linking of Liari’s story with 26/11 Mumbai attacks. On the other hand, Akshay Khanna’s viral ‘Baloch look’ was liked by some Baloch people while many were upset. Then there was controversy over the use of a character resembling PPP leader Nabil Gabol and the photo of Benazir Bhutto in the film. However, Pakistan is also feeling angry that they had such a good subject, but they could not do anything.
box office capture
By the way, if we talk about Aditya Dhar’s film ‘Dhurandhar’, it cannot be praised enough. Everyone has done their work well in the film. Ranveer Singh has created such a stir by playing ‘Hamza’ and Akshay Khanna as ‘Rahman Dacoit’ that the public has gone crazy. Apart from these two great men, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and our beloved ‘Baba’ i.e. Sanjay Dutt are also in strong roles in this spy-thriller film. R Madhavan may be seen on screen for a short while, but whenever he comes, he does wonders. At the same time, Arjun Rampal also left no stone unturned in captivating hearts by becoming a mafia. Then if we talk about Sanju Baba, he along with Rakesh Bedi defeated the villain. Apart from all this, Sara Arjun, who played Ranveer Singh’s love interest in the film, also did her job very beautifully. At the age of just 20, Sara has done such intense acting that young actresses started getting scared of her. Along with this, Saumya Tandon in the role of Akshay Khanna’s wife has also attracted a lot of attention with her work. Overall, every actor has fitted into his/her character so beautifully that it seems as if these roles were written for him/her. In the end, the background music of the film deserves praise. None of the songs of ‘Dhurandhar’ sounds washed out. Every track seemed appropriate to the situation. Especially the way the maker has used old classic songs in the background of the film, it is really praiseworthy. ‘Dhurandhar’, which has so many qualities, has crossed the mark of Rs 300 crore at the box office. Now fans are waiting for Part 2 of ‘Dhurandhar’, which is going to be released in theaters across the world on March 19, 2026.
Also read: Ranveer Singh and Akshay Khanna’s Dhurandhar will be released on this OTT platform, but will have to wait.
