Shashi Tharoor calls Dhurandhar propaganda but praises it

Shashi Tharoor has waded into the debate around Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar films after watching both instalments. The Congress MP’s review is neither a clean endorsement nor a blanket dismissal—he finds the filmmaking impressive while taking sharp issue with the violence and the political messaging baked into the franchise.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Tharoor said the second part worked better for him than the first. He described it as “superb” as a work of fiction and entertainment, and said the two films add up to a major cinematic experience after eight hours.

Propaganda, bans and a prediction

Tharoor acknowledged the criticism that Dhurandhar leans on propaganda, saying there is “a lot of propaganda stuff built into it obviously.” He pointed to reports that the films have been banned in Pakistan and several Gulf countries over concerns about creating bad blood between Indians and Pakistanis.

His most quoted line is a careful one about how audiences across the border might respond. Some of the dialogue, he suggested, would make Pakistanis laugh, while other moments could make them “realise how much wrong has been done in their name.”

Violence that goes too far

The biggest reservation in Tharoor’s view is not the politics but the graphic violence. He called the blood and mayhem “totally excessive and over the top,” adding that there was no need for scenes he described as among the most disgusting in Indian cinema.

That note is worth keeping in mind before you queue up both films: this is an eight-hour commitment with imagery that is deliberately brutal.

The Doval-like character and a credibility question

Tharoor also turned a critical eye on R Madhavan’s character, widely seen as modelled on National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He questioned whether one person could plausibly hold such a position from the late 1990s to the present, calling the continuity a stretch, though he understood why the filmmakers kept the character for narrative momentum.

His own brush with intelligence work, he said, was far more civilised—analysis, conversations and information exchanges rather than “cloak and dagger stuff.”

What the fuss tells us

The Dhurandhar franchise has collectively earned over Rs 3,100 crore worldwide, so the stakes around this conversation are commercial as well as cultural. Tharoor’s take matters because it separates the craft from the ideology:

• He praised the vivid filmmaking, competent acting and superb sets, design and direction.
• He named the second instalment as the stronger of the two.
• He objected to excessive violence and acknowledged the political messaging.
• He questioned the plausibility of the NSA-style character’s long arc.

That balanced reaction leaves fans with a useful lens: you can enjoy the spectacle and still interrogate the message.

Source: The Times of India