Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar is loosely adapted from real events involving Indian agents sent undercover to infiltrate gangs in Pakistan to prevent further terrorist attacks such as the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks (both shown on film). Sent into to Pakistan by way of Afghanistan, Hamza Ali Mazari (Ranveer Singh) inserts himself into the rivalry of two gangs seeking control of the Lyari region quickly rising up the ranks to become a trusted member of the organization led by Rehman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna).

At 214 minutes, Dhurandhar is one of the longest Indian films ever made which is extended by political aspirations and the betrayals of both Rehman and Jameel Jamali (Rakesh Bedi) of the Pakistan People's Party and a love subplot involving Hamza falling for Jamali's daughter (Sara Arjun). Despite its length, the film is really all setup to the film's sequel (due out in March) in which the now perfectly-placed Hamza can begin his true mission to target the mastermind behind the Pakistani terror attacks.

A bit too long and unwieldy, the narrative structure of the film works against its running time as we need to spend far too much time with Hamza's introduction and slow rise in the underworld before he can use his position to get rid of his competition. The flowing shots of Singh's hair and the Bollywood musical numbers are also in stark contradiction to the film's more serious, and often quite bloody, sequences (in which more than one character is literally beaten to death or when real terrorist recordings are played on-screen).

Too short to tell the whole story and too long to be merely the primer for the sequel, Dhurandhar is nevertheless entertaining and well-made (even if writer/director Aditya Dhar struggles at times to fit in all the plot). It looks fantastic and feels authentic in its setting and staging. The seedy underbelly is well explored, as is Hamza's internal turmoil for the actions he's forced to make while undercover. Sanjay Dutt makes for an interesting late addition as the no-nonsense cop obsessed with Rehman (which Hamza eventually turns to his advantage). And along the way we'll get a number of well-shot action sequences and fights (and, yes, a few musical numbers as well).

• Title: Dhurandhar
• IMDb: link