Dhurandhar: Bollywood’s Masala Spy Saga or CGI Disaster?

Let’s get real, I walked into Dhurandhar expecting a tight spy thriller, but it opened with what looked like a Kandahar hijack scene straight using a CGI plane, cardboard stairs, zero backdrop depth. That’s like starting a cricket match with a no-ball and wondering why the team loses. From that very first frame, the whole movie felt like it was struggling to breathe.

The movie is long (3 hours 30+ minutes). Plot tries to weave real events into a fictional spy story, which sounds ambitious on paper, but in execution it often drags. Scenes meant to be tense, like a torture sequence, felt so flat that I wondered if the editor dozed off during cuts. If you start with low-budget vibes, trust me everything feels sub-par.

Critics and celebs are raving. One big review said Ranveer Singh carries the film and it’s “pulls you into a gritty universe” with immersive storytelling. Another headline quoted Akshay Kumar saying he was “blown away” and Hrithik Roshan calling it “cinema” despite disagreeing with its politics. My honest reaction? Haan bhai, cinema toh hai, but sometimes cinema can also feel like a long, confusing WhatsApp forward. Everything from acting to direction to sets to dialogues to music, everything is just bearable or sub-par. The era of stars is over.. nobody in my view seems like larger than life.

There are moments people do praise: some punchy performances, catchy music, and intense scenes. But for me, those were like mirchi masala sprinkled on lukewarm daal, you notice them, but they don’t save the meal.

The pacing is slow, the CGI and production feel inconsistent, and the whole thing often feels longer than necessary. A good spy story needs tight editing; this felt like a trailer that somehow became a movie.

I get why many folks love it, box office numbers are huge, songs are popular and social media is lit about it. But hype doesn’t automatically equal quality. Compared to slicker content like The Family Man Season 3, this movie sometimes lagta hai like Bollywood trying on spy gear that doesn’t fit.

If you’re into over-the-top Bollywood action with big personalities, you might enjoy Dhurandhar. If you want believable production quality and really sharp direction, this one might leave you saying, grow up Aditya Dhar! and company.

Had the first scene looked half-decent, maybe the whole film wouldn’t feel like it failed the first impression test, but I doubt it - It just simply the worst. And if I had a forward button in my hand well, I probably would’ve used it generously, or maybe I did.