A rant (sort of) and a window into the saga of me, my past and Dhurandhar
Let me warn you, this is going to be long so buckle up guys.
I usually don't post anything because I'm lazy, but for the first time I feel that I need to talk about Dhurandhar in detail from my POV, which I hope will resonate with some of my other contemporaries as well. I'm not as talented as some of the writers here so please forgive any grammatical errors.
During last December I knew that a movie by Aditya Dhar was coming out, but I didn't think much of it. People were bashing the movie before it was released, just like so many movies that had come before in that year. I had given up on watching Indian media a long time ago, because I didn't feel connected to it. I loved foreign media, but I also longed to see same kind of storytelling replicated in India. I wanted to talk about minor details that wouldn't be obvious on first watch, I wanted to be in a fandom that would be supportive and I wanted to see my people in those stories.
So, I ignored it, till my brother called me on 12th December and told me how good of a film it was. I usually like his recommendations, so went to see it without much expectations. But there in the movie theatre, magic happened and I fell in love with the world Dhar created. I was so elated, that the entire way home I kept yapping to my parents about it. They were kind of exasperated. I listened to songs on loop and wanted to read and know more about the characters, so I stalked actors on Instagram. I always read fanfictions about other fandoms, but never had come across fandom for an Indian media. I had a hunch that maybe AO3 or Tumblr might have some fics or discussions, so I came here. I think I was one of the first few people who checked the Dhurandhar tag obssessively. Because I remember first few posts in this tag were filled with criticisms of the movie from the obvious actors that always criticise anything remotely nationalistic. But then within a week or two, first fics started to come out and discussions happened. I was so happy! I remember @yalina-rangi was the first person who put in request for Dhurandhar fics for the readers and was one of the first posters in this tag. And so, the love saga between me and this movie had commenced.
Over the next few months, I would read many fanfictions and discussions and check Instagram for edits and interviews. I started to feel the excitement in my nerves for what was about to come. Perhaps because I had such sky-high expectations, I felt a bit numb when I first heard the song Aari Aari or saw the trailer. Though now, I'm happy to announce that the album has grown on me so much that even while typing this I can still hear the songs in my head. Then, I went to the movie theatre on 21st of March. While I was watching the movie, I felt strangely numb. I could see the scenes happening, songs in the background, but couldn't comprehend it. I understood what was happening but my mind was frozen. When I came out of the theatre I felt heavy and somewhat disappointed. I thought I didn't like this movie as much as the first one. Though I couldn't put a finger on what exactly. With this heavy feeling in my chest and head, I slept and during the next three days tried to examine my feelings. I rewatched the movie on a pirated website to figure out what exactly I liked or disliked.
Then it hit me like a train. I was broken by what happened in the movie. I know how childish I sound, but I genuinely feel somewhat broken. I, since last few years, have been hit by realities of adulthood. I have lost my idea of home. The place I grew up in doesn't exist and the people I thought were my home, aren't what I thought of them to be. This is the reason I cling to these fictional characters and live through them vicariously. For me Hamza and Yalina weren't mere characters, they were what I imagined love to be like. I put myself in their place and hoped when I fell in love, it would be like them. Steady, safe and warm. (Of course, no honeytrapping angle.) But the ending of the movie shattered all that. In real life I am alone, and now even in my fictional world, there is separation and loss of home. I never felt this sad for any other character's arc, but this one felt so unnecessarily sad. Would it have been that hard to insert a twenty second sequence showing them in Vancouver? Are happy endings that elusive on screen as well?
Khair, I'm not the writer or director, so I can't change the ending. I avoided listening to the songs of D2 album because they hurt my heart. But still I am drawn towards them. I avoided seeing edits of the movie, especially Hamza and Yalina's, still I find myself watching them and crying. And I have cried like I have lost my loved one. I can’t even listen to Gehra Hua now, because then the knife lodged in my heart twists even more.
Through this all mindfuck, fanfictions have been a great respite. Especially the one @tere-naal-nachna is writing about Yalina and Hamza. Also, the second chance one by @ib-gremlin. And so many others. People may think that this fanfiction business is frivolous, but I want to say, that you guys are the ones doing God's work. People have always dismissed women's POV and interests, but here I feel they are embraced. They are validated. If your writing is able to soothe even one person's inner child, isn't that a win? I just want to say that every fanfiction I have read has healed something in me. And if Dua lagegi wala thing really exists, then from me atleast may all you cutiess get lots of Dua.
Now coming to the propaganda part of it all, I have a few thoughts. I would like to think I’m fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and also a proud Indian. In today’s political climate I feel somewhat cornered because I think that the space for nuanced takes and opinion is definitely shrinking. Either I am a chest-thumping, anti-intellectual, misogynistic asshole or I am a woke, out of touch libtard. I don’t think majority of us cleanly fall into either categories. Why do we need to choose between our country or our freedoms, I don’t understand. I can be nationalistic and still criticise the government. I can also praise the positive they do while criticising their shortcomings. Same goes for opposition. If we can give ourselves that grace, then why can’t we extend the same to our filmmakers? I loved that we didn’t show Aman ki Asha and actually went into the depth of how terrorism networks work. If Veer-Zara can exist and be loved, then even Dhurandhar deserves the same. I didn’t see it attacking any religion or country as such, and Aditya Dhar spelled it out explicitly (In fact, Aditya has involved people from all religions and communities and treated the characters and the people involved in the project with dignity). And even if there was a criticism, I am of the firm belief that no religion is above criticism, not even mine (I am Hindu). Criticism brings change within the structural hierarchy that exists within all the religions. And it should exist and be protected.
You might have thought this to be a review, but I purely wrote things on vibes till now. Now moving on to the review of the things I liked and disliked about the movie.
The music is heavy as compared to the previous movie. Someday, when I recover from the carnage that D2 caused, I might enjoy it fully. Because now every time I hear Aakhri Ishq I cry like a baby.
It is well shot. The frames are very pretty and well composed.
Story is, of course, the king here. It is well-written and should become a standard in Bollywood to make story the main focus rather than middle-aged actors.
Casting is chef's kiss. Mukesh Chhabra pulled off the manoeuver of lifetime with the actors he chose. For the first time I'm seeing so many hot actors and actresses in one frame. Otherwise Bollywood has a habit to have absolute babes paired up with uncles de-aged using VFX, primarily to cater to largely male audiences. I think this is one of very times where fandom is pretty evenly composed. Credit goes to the hot guys I mentioned before.
And lastly, acting. The spine of any movie. If the actors and actresses were attractive, they were twice as talented. Ranveer Singh is an actor I always felt positively for, but this movie has turned me into fan. Arjun, Akshaye, Sara, Danish, Maddie and all others have given their all and have become the characters they played. I think it is genuinely jarring to see the gritty on-screen personas they embodied and then the pookie interviews they give. Truly chameleons of highest order. Salute.
And of course, the styling. Styling from Dhurandhar is genuinely one of my favourites of all time. It is very realistic and also can be replicated in real life. It brought out the personalities of the characters very well and made the actors look very good.
Now, moving on to one of the things I disliked the most was the editing. I don't know what exactly went different this time around, but the editing of some parts of movie was quite abrupt and jarring. It felt sort of incohesive in many places. D1 flowed so smoothly that I didn't realise where the time flew. Here it felt choppy in some places, though I can't exactly pin-point where, as I'm not a professional film reviewer. Where D1 felt like smooth peanut butter, D2 was like its crunchier version. Some may like it, but I didn't like it as much as the last one.
2. Second thing I disliked was some parts of the story felt unrealistic. No, I'm not talking about the propoganda allegation, but rather the fact that D1 felt more grounded. But in D2 hero seems invincible, and all the villains are kind of fuddu. So, the stakes seem a bit low. Arjun's character was hyped up as this ultimate villain but then turned out to be a fusska pataka. Some plot points feel a bit unrealistic. D1 gathered praise for its grounded approach, which set it apart from likes of YRF Spyverse, Jawan, Animal, Pushpa, etc. Yet, in D2 it succumbed to the same set of flaws that became the undoing of the aforementioned films. While not as unrealistic as the rest of them, it still required a suspension of belief which was not needed in the first part.
3. Lastly, in D2, I feel there were arcs that could have been utilised more, and others that shouldn't have been stretched as much. Such as,
-Unknown gunmen part could have been a bit shorter.
-Story could have stressed more on Delhi side of things.
-Uzair's arc should have been stretched by 2-3 minutes.
-How loss of grandson might have affected Shirani.
-How nexus between ISI and Dawood was formed could have been explored a bit. `
-Villains should have been a little more menacing, and their thought process should have been explored.
-And lastly, I will forever stay firm on the fact that separation of Hamza and Yalina was unnecessary. It was put in place just to stress on Balidan Parmo Dharm. Loss of his previous family was a Param Balidan too. This one was not necessary and only served as a way to amplify Hamza's pain and sacrifice. They could have shown their reunion in Vancouver.
This movie is one of those pieces of media that alters your life. Not in a dramatic way. But in this very subtle way where you adopt pieces of it into your mosaic of life. It has given me so much happiness and sadness, and most importantly a sense of community and camaraderie with so many of my Indian girl gang. Till now we had to fangirl over foreign media, but now I can’t tell how liberating it is to fangirl over indigenous cinema. Our people, our stories, our pride and culture. Our language, our thoughts and our lives on screen. This perhaps would have been inconceivable to me 6 months ago and look at us now. I hope with Dhurandhar our media industry would make stories and characters that we can cheer and root for. And to all my dear friends here, the ones I interacted with and even the ones I didn’t interact with, I love you all you have enriched my life beyond measure and made me a very happy and content woman. May all of us be happy and fulfilled.