Six Gulf nations ban 'Dhurandhar' over ‘anti-Pak’ content, overseas release hit

The Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna–led spy thriller Dhurandhar has been banned across six Gulf nations after censorship authorities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman refused certification over its allegedly 'anti-Pakistan' political framing.

The decision removes a key overseas market from the film’s international run, even as it continues to perform strongly in India and other territories, with box-office collections approaching Rs 300 crore at the end of the first week of its release.

The ban has sharpened debate around the film’s nationalism, which several reviewers have described as overtly propagandist, and has drawn attention to a broader diplomatic pattern: Gulf regimes remain cautious about approving content perceived as hostile to Pakistan, a country with which many maintain historical defence ties, labour dependencies and longstanding political relationships.

At the same time, Dhurandhar has attracted substantial praise within the Indian industry for its scale and craft. Hrithik Roshan said he was struck by the film’s cinematic ambition even though he “may disagree with the politics of it”, calling it an example of “immersive storytelling” and commending director Aditya Dhar’s command of the medium.

Film critic Sucharita Tyagi noted the film’s “precision and confidence” in its action and performances, saying the Gulf ban reflects “a predictable regional sensitivity to India–Pakistan narratives rather than a judgement on the film’s cinematic merits”. Fellow critic Anna M.M. Vetticad observed that the film’s reception abroad highlights “the geopolitical lens through which South Asian stories are read”, particularly when national security themes are central to the plot.

Commenting on social media, filmmaker Hansal Mehta focused on the filmmaking rather than the politics, describing the film’s execution as “impressive” and Singh’s performance as “remarkably controlled”. He called the ban “regrettable for cinema”.

The Gulf’s treatment of Dhurandhar comes at a moment when India is deepening strategic, economic and energy partnerships with Gulf states, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Despite this increasingly warm relationship, cultural and political sensitivities around Pakistan continue to shape the region’s decision-making.

Large Pakistani expatriate populations live and work across the Gulf, giving Islamabad significant soft influence. Several Gulf states maintain longstanding military and intelligence cooperation with Pakistan, prompting caution toward content perceived as anti-Pakistani. India’s growing presence in the region — from energy corridors to security cooperation — has not entirely displaced these older alignments, leaving cultural diplomacy as a delicate balancing act.

As Vetticad noted in her commentary, the ban illustrates the “dissonance between Indian domestic political narratives and the region’s geopolitical priorities”. Analysts have pointed out in recent months that India’s soft-power exports — including films with nationalist themes — often encounter friction in regions where local strategic interests differ from those implied onscreen.

In that sense, the Dhurandhar ban is not simply a cultural decision but a reminder that India’s geopolitical outreach must still navigate the Gulf’s complex and sometimes competing loyalties, especially where Pakistan is involved.

Directed and written by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar features Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi, and tracks covert intelligence operations through a volatile geopolitical landscape. The makers have announced that part two of the film will release on 19 March 2026, ensuring that debate around the franchise — political and otherwise — will continue.