The trailer for the upcoming Bollywood film Dhurandhar has dropped, and it doesn’t hold back. It highlights a fictional espionage story rooted in a real-life political and military strategy often linked to Pakistan.
The trailer begins with Arjun Rampal, who plays Major Iqbal, an ISI (Pakistani intelligence) officer, recalling the controversial quote: “Bleed India with a thousand cuts”.
He says he heard this phrase when he was a child, when Pakistan’s former president Zia-ul-Haq used it, and it has shaped his mindset ever since. The “thousand cuts” idea refers to a strategy of prolonged, low-intensity conflict, rather than full-scale war.
The trailer shows very brutal scenes, including torture: a man’s body is shown pierced with sharp wires in a horrific sequence.
On the other side, R. Madhavan plays Ajay Sanyal, an Indian intelligence officer. In the trailer, he says they must “infiltrate the very core of terrorism in Pakistan.”
Akshaye Khanna plays a menacing character named Rehman Dakait. Sanjay Dutt appears in the role of Chaudhary Aslam, a dangerous figure who seems to hover between being a crime lord and a militant force. The film is written and directed by Aditya Dhar, who previously made Uri: The Surgical Strike.
Dhurandhar is set for a 5 December 2025 release.
Why This Matters
The trailer strongly brings in real historical rhetoric, mixing fact with fiction. By tying the story to the “bleed India” concept, the film is staking a serious political and ideological claim.
It also shows a very dark and graphic side of espionage and conflict. While the action and drama are high, it's clear this isn’t a simple cat-and-mouse spy movie, it’s deeply rooted in cross-border tension.
The choice to use such a strategy opens up room for debate: how historical grudges are represented, what is “inspired by true events,” and how entertainment deals with real political trauma.
Reaction
Some people have praised the trailer’s scale, saying it’s a “world-class” cinematic vision.
Others have slammed it for being too violent content creator Dhruv Rathee, for example, compared parts of it to “ISIS clips.”
Suparn S. Varma, a filmmaker, defended Dhurandhar. He says Indian filmmakers are unfairly judged for violence, while similar scenes in foreign films are praised