Swara Bhasker’s Mother Trashes Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar

In a significant critique of mainstream Indian cinema, renowned film scholar and academician Ira Bhaskar—mother of actor Swara Bhasker—has slammed the Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar for its “ridiculous” political undertones and “extreme violence.”

Speaking at a panel discussion titled “Politics of Contemporary Indian Cinema” hosted by activist Harsh Mander’s Karwan-e-Mohabbat, Bhaskar expressed deep concern over the film’s ideological messaging and its portrayal of minority communities and neighboring nations.

A “Well-Made” Film at the Service of Ideology

Despite her harsh critique of the film’s content, Bhaskar did not shy away from acknowledging director Aditya Dhar’s technical prowess. She described him as a “competent filmmaker” and the movie itself as “well-made,” but argued that cinematic craft cannot be viewed in isolation from the message it promotes.

“Let me give the example of Dhurandhar, which is earning crores at the box office. This is an example of a film made by a filmmaker who is ideologically convinced by Hindutva,” Bhaskar stated during the discussion.

She questioned the growing trend of divorcing “form from content,” suggesting that the technical excellence of modern blockbusters is often used to mask or facilitate problematic narratives.

Critique of Violence and “The Violent Muslim” Trope

One of Bhaskar’s primary contentions was the film’s reliance on extreme violence, which she believes serves a specific political agenda. She argued that the film reinforces harmful stereotypes by painting an entire community and nation through a singular lens of aggression.

• Negative Portrayals: Bhaskar noted that the film fails to show “normal” Muslim characters, instead populating its world with terrorists and gangsters.
• Demonization of Pakistan: She remarked that the film portrays Pakistan as a “very violent nation” without any nuance or humanizing elements.
• Selective Storytelling: While Dhurandhar claims to be “inspired by true events” (referencing the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the Parliament attack), Bhaskar labeled it a “fiction film” that selectively chooses facts to serve its underlying ideology.

The Box Office vs. The Ethical Debate

The timing of Bhaskar’s comments is particularly notable as Dhurandhar has emerged as a historic commercial juggernaut. Released in late 2025, the film reportedly crossed the ₹1,300 crore mark globally, becoming one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.

While filmmakers like Ram Gopal Varma and Sandeep Reddy Vanga have hailed the film as a “quantum leap” and a “masculine spectacle,” a section of critics has mirrored Bhaskar’s sentiments. They argue that the film’s use of real-life news footage and intercepted audio from terror attacks blurs the line between entertainment and propaganda.

A Precursor to the Sequel

Ira Bhaskar’s remarks come just days before the scheduled release of the sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, on March 19, 2026. The sequel, featuring an ensemble cast including Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, and Akshaye Khanna, is already seeing record-breaking advance bookings.

As the debate over “New India” cinema intensifies, Bhaskar’s critique highlights the widening gap between commercial success and academic scrutiny in Bollywood. Her voice adds to a growing conversation about whether filmmakers have a moral responsibility to provide nuance when dealing with sensitive geopolitical and religious themes.