Why Dhurandhar 2 Was Never Going To Be About Lyari Gangwars

The Dhurandhar films have put Lyari, a densely-populated neighbourhood in Pakistan's Karachi, on the world map more than its infamous gang wars and bloodshed. Clearly, cinema, like other art forms, transcends borders.

A section of viewers entered the dark cinema hall with the hope of getting a crossborder espionage story and when they didn't get one, it came as a rude shock.

Part one of Dhurandhar was more a classic gangster saga that saw a 'stranger from the land of shadows' come to a new town, pledge allegiance to a ganglord, become his trusted aide, and then rise up the ladder. When this stranger, our Hamza Ali Mazari (played by Ranveer Singh) activates his spy mode, Dhurandhar becomes a different story.

When Hamza reaches Lyari in Dhurandhar.

This change in narrative (another peak detailing by director Aditya Dhar?) only started making sense after we watched Dhurandhar 2, which is wreaking havoc in cinemas since March 19.

While Lyari was an inseparable part of all the action and drama in the Dhurandhar franchise, the films were never set to be about just that. The neighbourhood primarily served as the set-up in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, we saw many characters, including Hamza and Jameel Jamali, spell it out for us that the one who rules Lyari rules Karachi and thereby, rules the entire Pakistan. But the entire story of the Dhurandhar movies was never supposed to be about Lyari, its gang wars or the famous Operation Lyari, headed by SP Chaudhry Aslam, a real-life 'encounter specialist' essayed by Sanjay Dutt.

Akshaye Khanna's Rehman Dakait in action, not knowing his death is right around the corner.

With Dhurandhar 2 now out, it's clear the films were always about Jaskirat Singh Rangi, who transforms into a killing machine, goes undercover in Lyari as Hamza Ali Mazari to infiltrate the gang circuit, and roots out terrorism's fountainhead.

Dhurandhar shows how Hamza manages to latch himself to Rehman 'Dakait' Baloch (Akshaye Khanna)'s gang despite not being able to save his elder son Naieem following a bloody shootout with the goons of the rival Arshad Pappu gang. Hamza was unsuccessful in keeping Naieem alive, but because he 'fought' on behalf of Rehman Dakait's side and got his younger son Faizal alive out of the mess, he was inducted into the gang.

As time goes by, Hamza becomes a key member of the gang where Rehman Dakait trusts him with his life and family. Hamza is the one who senses that something was off with the 'loyal' househelp, Akhlaq. He discovers that Akhlaq actually poisoned Faizal's food on Arshad Pappu's command, eventually forcing Rehman Dakait to leave his house and get caught by SP Chaudhary Aslam.

Sanjay Dutt as SP Chaudhary Aslam in Dhurandhar 2.

After Hamza saves Rehman Dakait from the clutches of SP Chaudhary Aslam, he dares to stand up to the gang leader when he joins hands with the ISI to use his Baloch connection to provide arms for Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks on India.

Hamza not only slips into the gang but also gets into the minds of Rehman Dakait and his cousin, Uzair Baloch (Danish Pandor). He becomes like a brother from another mother to Uzair, who blindly trusts Hamza with all the internal information - be it about the gang getting funds from Aquib Ali Zarwari's PPP or the smuggling of the fake Indian currency from Karachi to India through Nepal's porous borders.

When he senses that the time has come to strike, Hamza takes Rehman Dakait out, colluding with SP Chaudhary Aslam and Jameel Jamali, whom he convinces to become his father-in-law.

All chess pieces move the way Hamza wants to, obviously on 'godfather' Ajay Sanyal (read: Aditya Dhar)'s directions, and Rehman Dakait, the King of Lyari, dies a slow, painful death. There too Hamza emerges a hero who fought tooth and nail to save Sher-e-Baloch but this time didn't succeed.

Dhurandhar 2 saw Hamza take centrestage as the new King of Lyari after cleverly sidelining and imprisoning Uzair, who had a nominal claim of the throne as next male member from Rehman Dakait's family.

Just like Arya Stark in Game of Thrones had a 'kill list', Hamza has his too. The only difference is he keeps a secret diary for his list which he keeps updating using an invisible ink.

Hamza's dear diary in Dhurandhar.

When his target is achieved, he strikes off the name of his latest hit in the diary.

When he first hears the name of Bade Sahab, he understands that this man is a major player in Pakistan's terror network. Naturally, Bade Sahab makes it to his kill list.

When Bade Sahab made it to Hamza's kill list.

For Hamza to complete his mission of killing as many Pakistani terrorists as possible while living in Pakistan, it was important for him to cosy up to the gangs of Lyari.

Dhurandhar goes gangsta, but it was always gunning for the bigger prize: the depiction of Indian intelligence agency weeding out terror in Pakistan.

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