Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna and R Madhavan, has been criticized by most English-language Bollywood film critics for ideological reasons. Many of their reviews find fault with the movie for a very strange reason: it is anti-Pakistan (yes, it is anti-Pakistan, instead of being anti-India). As a result, these critics have been panned by netizens online.
Uday Bhatia, who writes for Live Mint, wrote that he can't believe the "filth so many critics here are being subjected to this week". He added, "A vile country, and a shitty industry that won't stand up for critics but expects critics to stand up for them. I get a small fraction of the hate my fellow critics do. The abuse female critics have to deal with is appalling, and it's made worse by filmmakers and actors across ideologies devaluing criticism every time they get a bad review." His post suggests that netizens have resorted to abuse and online harassment.
Dhurandhar has turned out to be one of the most polarizing movies in recent times. After Uri, The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, and quite a few Hindi movies that showed Muslim kings in a negative light, Dhurandhar has subjected many Bollywood film critics to discomfort.
