Dhurandhar - A lengthy but gripping espionage thriller

The film stars Ranveer Singh , Sanjay Dutt , Akshay Khanna , Arjun Rampal , Sara Arjun and more. It is directed by Aditya Dhar. Ranveer Singh is brilliant as Hamza Ali Mazari , his presence and dialogue delivery is fabulous. Sanjay Dutt has done a fantastic job as SP Chaudhary Aslam , his character arc is very nice. Akshay Khanna's perfomance as Rehman Dakait is nothing to rave about , his expressions and dialogue delivery is stiff throughout the film. Arjun Rampal is menacing as Major Iqbal. Madhavan is brilliant as Ajay Sanyal. Sara Arjun has done a decent job as Yalina Jamali but , the love track provides some light hearted moments amidst the chaos. Rakesh Bedi delivers a layered and neat performance as Jameel Jamali. The story follows a fearless RAW agent who goes undercover in Pakistan's brutal Lyari underworld to dismantle a gangster- ISI nexus behind Major terror attacks on India. Aditya Dhar's raw direction and his writing is dense and very carefully written. The film plunges into one of the darkest chapters of modern India , capturing real footage of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in a red screen. The sequence is haunting and makes every Indian's blood boil. The forest fight sequence in the climax felt a little too lengthy and could have been cut by 10-20 mins. Music by Shashwat Sachdev is a mix of intense background scores and modern , energetic numbers. The production design by Saini S. Johray is phenomenal , it is hard to believe that the set was built in Thailand , because the detailing is perfect. Cinematography by Vikash Nowlakha focuses on telling the story through framing and composition , emphasizing power dynamics and tension rather than just spectacle. The chapter-wise storytelling is intriguing and makes the film feel more unique. Overall - A hard hitting film that could have been less lengthy but still engages from start to end with it's excellent world building.