‘Well-Made Propaganda Is The Most Dangerous’: Dhruv Rathee Compares Dhurandhar To Nazi-Era Films
Dhruv Rathee has slammed Ranveer Singh’s ₹800 crore hit Dhurandhar as “false propaganda”, compared it to Nazi-era films, questioned its violence and restricted comments on his video to members.
Even as Dhurandhar continues its thunderous run at the box office, the Ranveer Singh-led spy thriller has found itself at the centre of a sharp political debate. Now content creator Dhruv Rathee has launched a fresh attack, branding the film as “false propaganda”.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar has been widely praised for its brisk storytelling and high-octane action, helping it cross the ₹800 crore mark globally. However, alongside commercial success, the film has triggered intense discussions around its political undertones and depiction of real-life terror incidents. The narrative draws parallels with three major attacks — the 1999 IC 814 hijacking, the 2001 Parliament attack, and the November 2008 Mumbai terror strikes. Earlier, Hrithik Roshan had applauded the film’s craft but made it clear that he did not align with its political stance.
Dhruv Rathee renews criticism of Dhurandhar
Rathee has now released a detailed video critique of the film, accusing director Aditya Dhar of pushing a misleading narrative. “Director of the film Dhurandhar, Aditya Dhar, has made a false claim and tried to spread nonsense propaganda through his film,” he says in the video. This is not the first time Rathee has taken aim at the project; he had previously called out what he described as excessive violence after the trailer’s release.
Taking his argument further, Rathee said, “Well-made propaganda is more dangerous. Films like The Taj Story and The Bengal Films were not dangerous, kyunki wo bakwaas films thi (because they were bad films). But Dhurandhar is an engaging film.” Despite the disclaimer stating that the film is fictional, Rathee insisted that it goes beyond mere cinematic imagination. He said, “The problem is that Dhurandhar repeatedly shows you it’s inspired by real events. It says so in the trailer. It shows the real footage from the 26/11 attacks. The real audio recordings of conversations between the terrorists and their handlers have been used. It also uses real-life gangsters and cops based in Pakistan’s Lyari.”
Adding to his criticism of Dhurandhar, Dhruv Rathee further questioned what he described as the responsibility of filmmakers when dealing with politically charged narratives and real-life violence. Drawing a stark comparison, he said, “We can debate the responsibility of filmmakers... No matter how good the film is, but in the end it is propaganda like Nazi propaganda film during Hitler's time...These false propaganda films in their time were also very profitable,” he continues.
Rathee also took strong objection to the film’s depiction of violence and what he sees as the glamorisation of criminals in Aditya Dhar’s action-heavy narrative. According to him, the film presents gangsters and terrorists in a stylised, almost aspirational manner, complete with slickly choreographed gunfights, viral dance moments and graphic, sensationalised sequences of brutality.
Elaborating on his point, Rathee said, “Dhurandhar is an engaging film. Keeping this in mind, the film shows that our country’s Intelligence agencies hire criminals. There is another big problem in the film Dhurandhar — gangsters' depiction. Rehman Dakait. He was a devilish kind of guy. But in the film, his character has a different cool swagger. He delivers dialogues and the dance goes viral on Instagram... This is crazy,” he says.
Dhruv Rathee restricts comment section of the video
Notably, Rathee has restricted the comment section of his latest video, limiting interactions only to his members and subscribers, even as the debate around Dhurandhar continues to intensify across social media and the film fraternity.
About Dhurandhar
Dhurandhar follows the journey of an Indian intelligence operative who infiltrates criminal networks in Pakistan in a bid to dismantle terror operations from within. Alongside Ranveer Singh, the ensemble cast includes Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Sanjay Dutt. The film has emerged as one of the year’s biggest hits, amassing nearly ₹800 crore worldwide within just 16 days of release.
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