New Delhi: Bollywood’s explosive spy thriller Dhurandhar has ignited a firestorm across the border, with a shocking endorsement from the real-life friend of gangster Rehman Dakait. In a viral video, lawyer Habib Jan Baloch praises the film for achieving what Pakistan couldn’t—immortalising his old pal on the big screen.
But is Dakait a villain or an unsung hero? As the movie smashes Rs 1000 crore worldwide, Pakistan’s reactions reveal deep divides over Lyari’s bloody past.
Friend’s viral praise
Habib Jan Baloch, a lawyer and Baloch nationalist who knew Rehman Dakait two decades ago, watched Dhurandhar twice before sharing his thoughts in a widely circulated video. Speaking to a reporter, Baloch said, “I won’t talk about the character. This is what happens in films. Had there been a few more songs, it would have been better. But I need to say that what Pakistan did not do, India’s Bollywood did. Thank you, Bollywood!”
He made it clear the film isn’t targeting any political group, despite backlash from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) members who claim it paints their party negatively.
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Hero or villain?
Baloch flipped the script on the movie’s portrayal, insisting Rehman Dakait was no villain. “He was a hero, a good man. Pakistan is indebted to him. Had Rehman and Uzair Baloch not been there, then Pakistan’s face would have been like Bangladesh today, or even worse,” Baloch argued, crediting the gangsters with holding the line in Karachi’s violent Lyari suburb during the 2000s.
Rehman, played by Akshaye Khanna, ruled Lyari’s gang wars with cousin Uzair Baloch amid drugs, extortion, and arms trafficking. Real-life accounts note he killed his mother at 15, escaped jail, and built an empire before a 2013 police encounter led by SP Aslam (Sanjay Dutt in the film).
Film’s massive success
Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy infiltrating Rehman’s gang in Pakistan’s gang-infested Lyari. The cast includes R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt, blending high-stakes action with real events.
The film has roared past Rs 1000 crore worldwide in weeks, ranking as Bollywood’s fourth-highest grosser ever. Day 21 alone added Rs 26 crore domestically, pushing totals near Rs 1007 crore globally.
This cross-border buzz cements Dhurandhar’s grip, turning fiction rooted in Pakistan’s underbelly into a global blockbuster.