Dhurandhar 2025 – A peek into the sordid lives of real Indian spies

Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar may be scripting new history with their gritty spy-action thriller about a RAW agent’s exploits in Pakistan, a peek into the lives of real Indians held on espionage charges in a hostile country is no less riveting, and a darn deal more dangerous.

Former Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit's book, Hostility: A Diplomat's Diary on Pakistan-India relations published in 2021 suggests that Pakistan does not know what to do with Kulbhushan Jadhav, held in Pakistan since 2016 on espionage charges.

According to the former high commissioner, posted to New Delhi between 2014 and 2017, Islamabad may have struggled with how to handle the high-profile case after Jadhav's arrest in March 2016. Abdul Basit wrote that Pakistan had "boxed itself into a corner" over the Kulbhushan Jadhav case and that the country could not easily hang him or free him. "It can neither free Jadhav nor, it seems, hang him... perhaps the only option left for Pakistan is to complicate the matter legally and drag it on indefinitely so that it's saved from taking the tough decision".

Basit's key claims regarding the matter was his strongly held view that Pakistan had "mishandled the case right from the word go and [was] gradually losing its credibility in the matter".

In the book, Basit also revealed his frustration at being excluded from key India-Pakistan communications, claiming that the then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used the "good offices of the industrialist Sajjan Jindal" to carry messages regarding the Kulbhushan Jadhav matter, often without Basit's knowledge.

India has always maintained that Jadhav was a retired naval officer abducted from Iran, while Pakistan alleges that he was a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent arrested in Balochistan for espionage and sabotage.

The case was taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered Pakistan to stay Jadhav's execution and grant him consular access. In earlier statements, Basit has repeatedly stated that Pakistan had sufficient evidence to convict Jadhav of espionage charges and had shared some of this information with the Indian government. He referred to Jadhav as a "terrorist" who "should meet his fate" for his actions.

In other words - unlike a sashaying Ranveer Singh winning hearts and minds, bamboozling opponents– Jadhav is likely to stay put in Pakistan for the immediate foreseeable future.

No less intriguing is the story of former Indian spy Ravindra Kaushik, who reportedly managed to infiltrate the Pakistani system, codenamed "The Black Tiger," rising in the Pakistani Army as a deep-cover RAW agent, adopting the identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir. He studied law, joining Pakistan’s Military's accounts department, and proved himself capable of handling sensitive intelligence, eventually becoming a Major by the early 1980s, a position that allowed him to send crucial info back to India before his exposure in 1983. He died in Pakistani prison in 2001.

Unlike Dhurandhar, Bollywood has been a lot stingier on real life Indian heroes, at least in three cases. Films like Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, and Romeo Akbar Walter are widely believed to be inspired by the life of Ravindra Kaushik, but got no recognition from the filmmakers, who did not officially credit him or his family.

In the case of Romeo Akbar Walter, while the film was marketed as "inspired by real events," the main character played by John Abraham was named Rehamatullah Khan, not Ravindra Kaushik. The lack of official credit for the real "Black Tiger" has been a point of contention for his family and supporters. Director Robbie Grewal's film is described as being "loosely based" on Kaushik's life rather than a direct, official biopic.

The question of intellectual property (IP) rights in the Ravindra Kaushik case arose when his family repeatedly claimed that the storyline of another Bollywood film Ek Tha Tiger (2012) was based on his life and requested credit. The director of Ek Tha Tiger, Kabir Khan, denied that the film was based on the spy’s life. The film was presented as a work of fiction. No intellectual property rights were officially recognized or granted to his family.

Bollywood has always maintained that since the government never acknowledged Ravindra Kaushik as an agent for diplomatic reasons, it’s formal claims for recognition or compensation through official channels was difficult. A nice washing off hands, if there was one.

Intelligence operations are highly classified, and a spy's identity and service are often officially erased for national security purposes. This inherent secrecy means that a personal life story related to espionage may not have the typical documentation or legal standing required for an IP claim in the public domain.

In contrast, Hollywood has produced several critically acclaimed spy biopics and thrillers based on true events. These films often blend historical accuracy with dramatic storytelling to explore the complexities and human costs of intelligence work.

Hollywood productions often pay for the life story rights for biopics, and this can also apply to spy biopics. Whether a subject or their estate is paid depends on the negotiations and the nature of the film.

From Argo (2012) to the Imitation Game (2014) and Operation Mincemeat (2022), are blockbusters of this genre, which have been duly acknowledged and credited.