Despite being fully aware of just how vitriolic and propaganda-laden the first installment of Dhurandhar was, I wanted to give the sequel a fair chance. All of this to say that I was surprisingly moved by Jaskirat Singh Rangi (Ranveer Singh)’s backstory.
Atif Ahmed taunts him, addressing him as “smackiye da beta” (son of a drug dealer). Not only is Jaskirat severely underestimated by those around him, he is also failed by the very system meant to protect him. His father is hanged by a power-hungry MLA.
His sister is gang-raped and eventually murdered by men who were intoxicated with power. But the minute he decides to retaliate against this injustice, he is sentenced to jail. There is a sadness to Jaskirat’s story that I, as a critic, found myself unexpectedly engulfed by. For a moment, I was truly invested in this character arc. Somewhere, deep down, I was rooting for him.
But then, Ajay Sanyal (played by R Madhavan) enters the picture.
What does Ajay Sanyal do instead? He weaponises Jaskirat’s trauma to his, and by extension, the country’s advantage.
The whole “ghayal ho isiliye ghatak ho (you are lethal because you are wounded)” spiel is gaslighting at best, exploitation at worst.
