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Anupama Chopra Removes Her Dhurandhar Review In Which She Complained About “Anti-Pakistan Narrative”

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Film critic Anupama Chopra has taken down/made her review of Dhurandhar private, after intense backlash from netizens, who accused her of posting an out-of-touch and “tone-deaf” critique of a film firmly rooted in the espionage–action genre.

Chopra’s review, which described Dhurandhar as “exhausting, relentless and frenzied,” packed with “too much testosterone,” “shrill nationalism,” and an “inflammatory anti-Pakistan narrative”, was widely circulated on social media before she abruptly made it private.

In the now-removed review, she argued that director Aditya Dhar, known for the 2019 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike, had created a three-hour-plus spectacle that leaned heavily on hyper-masculine characters and nationalist themes. She also criticised Dhar’s use of real terror events including the Kandahar hijacking, the Parliament attack, and 26/11 recordings, calling the fact-fiction fusion “dangerous and clunky.”

Did She Expect A Spy Thriller With Bikinis and Gucci/Versace Merch? –  Netizens Hit Back

Social media users pounced on Chopra’s critique, pointing out what they felt were unrealistic expectations from a hardcore espionage thriller. Many questioned her complaint about testosterone and violence in a film led by undercover operatives and terror networks.

Review Taken Down After Escalating Ridicule

Within 3 days, the original review link on her platform became inaccessible, prompting speculation that Chopra deleted or restricted it in response to the mounting criticism.

Screenshots, however, continued circulating widely, with many users contrasting the content of Dhurandhar involving covert operations, ISI networks, and gang warfare, with Chopra’s critique that seemed to expect glamour, nightlife tropes, and stylised escapism typical of Bollywood’s older spy films.

Commentators argued that espionage stories, especially those based on terror events, are inherently intense and violent, and that criticising “nationalism” in a story about 26/11 plotters was bound to strike audiences as elitist and disconnected.

Part 2 of Dhurandhar Arrives in March

Despite the controversy over the review, Dhurandhar starring Ranveer Singh as an undercover operative embedded in Karachi’s Lyari syndicate, alongside Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna has generated high audience interest. The film ends on a cliffhanger, with Part 2 scheduled for release in March 2026.

As for Anupama Chopra, the removal of the review has only intensified debate over film criticism, audience expectations, and the widening cultural divide between critics and the movie-going public.

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