धुरंधर
Where Reel Meets Real
A two-part spy action thriller · Inspired by real events · 1999 — 2016
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Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, the Dhurandhar duology follows an Indian intelligence operative who infiltrates Karachi's criminal syndicates to dismantle terror networks targeting India. Starring Ranveer Singh in a career-defining dual role — the films draw from real events, real people, and real locations across the Indian subcontinent.
1999
2016
Chapter I
The Players
Hamza Ali Mazari
Ranveer Singh
Reel
Hamza Ali Mazari / Jaskirat Singh Rangi
Undercover Operative · Dhurandhar 1 & 2
A convicted criminal recruited from death row by India's Intelligence Bureau
for deep-cover operations in Pakistan. Living under a fabricated identity, he
infiltrates Lyari's gang ecosystem, rising through the ranks while feeding
intelligence back to his handlers. By the end, his fabricated persona has
consumed the man beneath.
"A man who becomes someone else so completely that he forgets who he was."
Real
Fictional Composite
RAW Operatives & Para Special Forces
Hamza is not based on any single real person — despite widespread speculation
linking him to Major Mohit Sharma (Ashok Chakra awardee). Director Aditya Dhar
explicitly denied the connection. Instead, Hamza represents a composite of
India's deep-cover intelligence operatives and Para SF soldiers who have operated
in hostile territory.
Major Sharma's family went to court to challenge the perceived connection.
Rehman Dakait
Akshaye Khanna
Reel
Rehman Balochi
King of Lyari · Leader of the Baloch Gang
Chairman of the People's Aman Committee and Lyari's most powerful gangster.
A man who rules through fear and blood money — funding schools and clinics
with drug proceeds. His volatile alliance with Hamza becomes the axis around
which the first film rotates. Killed in a police encounter in the film's climax.
"He built an empire with one hand and burned it with the other."
Real
Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch
c. 1980 — 9 August 2009
Born to an Iranian Baloch father, he committed his first murder at age 13.
He allegedly killed his own mother in 1995. He built a massive criminal empire
funded by narcotics, yet used blood money to fund the People's Aman Committee —
running schools, clinics, and ambulance services in Lyari. Affiliated with the PPP,
he once reportedly saved Benazir Bhutto's life.
Killed in a controversial police encounter by SP Chaudhry Aslam on 9 August 2009.
SP Chaudhary Aslam
Sanjay Dutt
Reel
SP Chaudhary Aslam
Head of the Lyari Task Force
The fearless, mustachioed head of Sindh Police's Lyari Task Force.
A man who fights crime with methods as brutal as the criminals themselves.
He is the one who ultimately kills Rehman Dakait in a controversial
police encounter — a pivotal turning point in the saga.
Sanjay Dutt brings a towering physical presence to Pakistan's most feared cop.
Real
Chaudhry Aslam Khan
1963 — 9 January 2014
Known as "Pakistan's Dirty Harry". Joined the Sindh Police as an ASI in the 1980s,
rose to head the Crime Investigation Department. Famous for his fearlessness,
signature mustache, and uncompromising methods against Taliban militants
and Karachi's gangs. His home was attacked multiple times. He led the operation
that killed Rehman Dakait in 2009.
Killed on 9 January 2014 by a TTP suicide bombing — a car packed with 200 kg of explosives on the Lyari Expressway.
Major Iqbal
Arjun Rampal
Reel
Major Iqbal
ISI Officer · Primary Antagonist
A shadowy ISI officer connected to terror operations against India.
He operates in the grey zone between intelligence and jihad — deploying assets,
running handlers, and orchestrating attacks. Killed by Hamza
in the climax of Dhurandhar 2.
Arjun Rampal delivers a performance of cold, calculated menace.
Real
Ilyas Kashmiri + "Major Iqbal"
Global Terrorist · ISI Handler
A fictional amalgamation. Ilyas Kashmiri was a Pakistani SF operator
turned jihadist leader of the 313 Brigade — CNN called him
"the most dangerous man on Earth." Killed in a US drone strike on 3 June 2011.
"Major Iqbal" was the shadowy ISI handler of David Coleman Headley,
who scouted Mumbai targets for the 26/11 attacks.
Ilyas Kashmiri was designated a global terrorist by both the US (2010) and the UN.
Ajay Sanyal
R. Madhavan
Reel
Ajay Sanyal
Director · Intelligence Bureau
The architect of Operation Dhurandhar. Frustrated by India's
weak-kneed responses to Pakistani terrorist attacks, he designs
a covert program that recruits convicted criminals as deep-cover
assets to infiltrate and neutralize terror networks in Pakistan.
The man who pulls all strings — the chess player behind the board.
Real
Ajit Doval
India's National Security Advisor
India's longest-serving NSA since 2014. Spent 7 years as an undercover agent
in Pakistan. Played a key role in Operation Blue Star (1984), convinced
militants in Kashmir to become counter-insurgents, and was a
key negotiator during the IC-814 hijacking at Kandahar in 1999.
Known as India's "spymaster" — a career spanning decades of covert intelligence work.
Uzair Baloch
Danish Pandor
Reel
Uzair Baloch
Rehman's Cousin · Successor
Rehman Dakait's cousin and second-in-command. After Rehman's death,
he seizes control of the Baloch gang and extends its iron grip over Lyari.
In Dhurandhar 2, he becomes a key player as Hamza navigates
the power vacuum left by Rehman's demise.
A brutal inheritor of a blood-soaked throne.
Real
Uzair Jan Baloch
Gang Lord of Lyari
Rehman Dakait's cousin who took over the gang after his death.
Extended his power over Lyari with extreme violence. Notorious
for an act so savage it became legend — he allegedly played
football with the severed head of rival gangster Arshad Pappu.
His reign of terror over Lyari continued until the Pakistan government crackdown in 2012.
"Bade Sahab"
Danish Iqbal
"Bade Sahab"
Danish Iqbal
Reel
Bade Sahab
The Shadow · Dhurandhar 2
Revealed in Dhurandhar 2 as the ailing, bedridden mastermind
operating from a Karachi "White House." A frail old man on a hospital bed
who still pulls every string behind ISI operations. The final
boss in the shadows — the revelation that the rot goes all the way to the top.
Played by NSD-trained theatre actor Danish Iqbal in a chilling, understated performance.
Real
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar
India's Most Wanted Fugitive
Founder of D-Company, India's most powerful criminal syndicate.
Mastermind of the 1993 Bombay serial bombings that killed 257 people.
Designated a global terrorist by the UN and USA. Believed to be living
in Karachi under ISI protection. His criminal empire spans
narcotics, extortion, and terror financing.
Despite India's efforts for decades, Dawood Ibrahim has never been extradited.
Chapter II
The Battleground
Lyari
Karachi's Heart of Darkness
The Real Lyari
One of Karachi's oldest and poorest coastal neighbourhoods — a labyrinth of narrow alleys, crumbling buildings, and rooftop lookouts. For decades, Lyari was the epicentre of gang wars between the Baloch and Pathan factions, where territorial control was measured in city blocks and paid for in blood. It is here that Rehman Dakait built his empire and where SP Aslam waged his war.
Recreating Lyari
Unable to film in Pakistan, director Aditya Dhar's team scouted multiple countries before settling on Bangkok, Thailand — where a 6-acre set recreating Lyari was built from scratch in just 20 days. Mumbai studios couldn't accommodate the scale, and monsoon rains made Indian outdoor construction impossible. Additional shooting took place in Punjab, Chandigarh, and Ladakh.
Gang Territories of Lyari
Select a territory or click an event to explore
6
Acres of Set Built
20
Days to Construct
214
Minutes Runtime (Film 1)
Chapter III
The Events
1999
IC-814 Hijacking
Five armed militants hijack an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi, diverting it to Kandahar. India is compelled to release three terrorists. This humiliation sparks the genesis of Operation Dhurandhar.
2001
Indian Parliament Attack
Five terrorists storm India's Parliament complex, killing nine people. The attack further hardens resolve within India's intelligence apparatus for covert action against Pakistan-based terror networks.
2007
Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto is assassinated at a political rally. In real life, Rehman Dakait was said to have once saved her life. The film depicts a fictional PPP rally with party imagery.
2008
26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks
Ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists attack multiple locations across Mumbai over four days, killing 175 people. The film uses real footage and audio recordings. Despite Hamza's intelligence work, the attacks still occur — the turning point for escalation.
2009
Death of Rehman Dakait
Lyari's most powerful gangster is killed in a controversial police encounter led by SP Chaudhry Aslam on 9 August. This event serves as the climax of Dhurandhar 1 and reshapes the Karachi underworld.
2012
Operation Lyari
The Pakistan government launches a major crackdown against gangs and crime syndicates in Lyari. SP Aslam attacks Uzair Baloch's gang. Twelve policemen are killed in the ensuing violence.
2014
Death of Chaudhry Aslam
Pakistan's most feared police officer is killed on 9 January in a TTP suicide bombing on the Lyari Expressway. A car packed with 200 kg of explosives. The Taliban claimed responsibility for silencing "Dirty Harry."
Operation Dhurandhar is fictional — but the events that inspired it are not. The gang wars of Lyari, the terror attacks on India, the shadowy handlers, the fearless officers, and the fugitives hiding in plain sight — these are the threads of a reality that no screenplay could fully contain.
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