Dhurandhar blocked in Gulf countries over anti-Pakistan content: Report

Ranveer Singh's new release, Dhurandhar, has emerged as a current favourite among cinema-goers. Amid the craze, the film is reportedly facing a ban in the Middle East. It is said that the film release has been blocked across six Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing an anti-Pakistan theme.

Dhurandhar is helmed by filmmaker Aditya Dhar, who is best known for the film Uri: The Surgical Strike.

Dhurandhar facing ban over anti-Pakistan theme?

According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, the authorities of the Gulf countries have objected to Dhurandhar's anti-Pakistan content. Reportedly, the makers made an attempt to release their film in the Gulf region, which serves as a crucial market for Hindi films. However, it was denied.

A source told the news outlet, “Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have not released Dhurandhar. There were apprehensions that this would happen as the film is perceived as an ‘anti-Pakistan film’. Also, in the past, such films have failed to procure a release in this region. Yet, the team of Dhurandhar made an attempt, but sadly, all the countries did not approve of the theme of the film. This is why Dhurandhar hasn't been released in any of the Gulf countries.”

Dhurandhar is a spy thriller set in Pakistan. The film's story focuses on a mysterious man, Hamza Ali Mazari, who infiltrates the gang of Rehman Dakait in Lyari.

The film stars Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, and Sara Arjun in the lead roles.

The film's song, starring Akshaye Khanna, 'FA9LA' by Flipperachi went viral on social media.

Dhurandhar box office performance

Dhurandhar recently crossed the ₹200 crore mark in India. At the worldwide box office, the film has made a collection of ₹274.25 crore, out of which its overseas collection was ₹58 crore, reported industry tracker Sacnilk.

The film has a runtime of 214.1 minutes (3 hours 34 minutes 1 second), making it one of the lengthiest Bollywood films in recent times.

Dhurandhar row over review

While many praised the film on social media, Dhurandhar received mixed reviews from film critics.

Recently, the Film Critics Guild claimed attacks on the film critics for their reviews of Dhurandhar. The film critic body condemned ‘targeted attacks, harassment, and hate’ towards film critics for the review of the film.

An excerpt from their official statement read: “What began as disagreement has rapidly devolved into coordinated abuse, personal attacks on individual critics, and organised attempts to discredit their professional integrity. In recent days, several of our members have faced intimidation, including direct threats and vicious online campaigns aimed at silencing their perspectives, simply for expressing their professional assessment of a film. More concerningly, there have been attempts to tamper with existing reviews, influence editorial positions, and persuade publications to alter or dilute their stance.”