The banning of Dhurandhar movie across all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar—has once again pushed Bollywood’s political storytelling into the spotlight. Authorities across the Gulf denied certification to the Ranveer Singh–led film, citing its “inappropriate” and overtly anti-Pakistan narrative centered on R&AW missions and a dramatized version of Operation Lyari.
The ban has already impacted box-office collections, cutting the film off from one of Bollywood’s most profitable overseas markets.
A Repetitive Storyline, Framed as Patriotism
How many times will we watch this formula repeat itself? Bollywood takes fragments of Pakistan’s history, strips away political complexity, injects glossy action sequences, and packages it all in a predictable nationalistic frame.
Karachi is yet again reduced to chaos—bomb blasts, criminal dens, and a version of Lyari that resembles a dystopian film set rather than a neighborhood known as much for culture, football, and resilience as its darker chapters.
Baloch Pushback Goes Viral
Many Baloch viewers, particularly from the diaspora, responded by posting original Balochi Taap recordings and music videos online, challenging the film’s depiction of Baloch identity. Anger grew especially after Sanjay Dutt’s character, Aslam Chaudrey, delivers the provocative line: “You cannot trust a Baloch.”
This not only misrepresents a community but also feeds into long-standing prejudices woven into Bollywood scripts.
Bollywood’s History of Disinformation
The controversy around Dhurandhar fits a decade-long trend where Indian cinema increasingly aligns with political messaging. Since 2014, militaristic nationalism has become a central commercial formula.
1. The “Pakistan as Enemy” Template
Movies like URI, Baby, Phantom, Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, Shershaah, and Fighter recycle the same binary:
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India as the heroic defender
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Pakistan as the perpetual destabilizer
These films frequently incorporate real intelligence terminology—ISI, Hafiz Saeed, Kashmir—blurring fiction with political messaging.
2. Stereotyping and Caricaturing
Pakistani figures are consistently portrayed as:
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duplicitous officers
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incompetent intelligence operatives
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extremist tribal chiefs
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disorderly or violent militants
Pashtun, Kashmiri, and Baloch characters are often reduced to harmful tropes deeply detached from their actual cultural identities.
3. Cinema as a Soft-Power Weapon
Independent researchers have documented how Bollywood aligns with India’s soft-power agenda, influencing international opinion:
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Military partnerships with film studios
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Script reviews by defence-linked consultants
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State-backed storytelling of intelligence operations
Such films are not merely entertainment—they shape narratives at home and abroad, especially in diaspora-heavy regions like the GCC.
A Rare Pushback From the Gulf
The GCC’s unified refusal to screen Dhurandhar signals rising awareness of how cinematic propaganda can shape regional tensions. Their decision reflects:
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sensitivity to South Asian geopolitics
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refusal to enable disinformation
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respect for diverse expatriate populations
Dhurandhar isn’t the first film to distort Pakistan’s story—and it won’t be the last unless Bollywood recognizes the responsibility that comes with its massive global footprint.
How long will India’s film industry sensationalize Pakistan for profit and political messaging? And at what cost to regional understanding, diaspora relations, and cultural integrity?
If Bollywood wants global credibility, it must move beyond the comfort of recycled antagonism.
