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In the current era of the faltering, synthetic flavored Spy Universes where style matters more than substance, Dhurandhar injects a much needed dose of grittyness and realism enhanced by a strong story, nuanced characters and powerful performances. The movie is indeed Brutal in parts, full of expletives and not an easy watch but thats what makes it real. Do note that a lot of the gore and action from the teaser and trailer are not in this part of the saga. Aditya Dhar has done a great job creating an authentic spy world which is based on real life characters and incidents and sprinkled it with heavy dose of masala to augment the flavors and experience. He gets it right by focusing on things that matter for good cinema - start with a good relatable story, then add well written characters with strong arcs, cast the right actors, give them the reins to bring their characters to life and then take no short cuts to deliver the vision.

Dhar starts with a premise that we have all seen and experienced over the last few decades and makes it relatable for his target audience by splicing in images and videos of the real life attacks that lead to the inception of the Dhurandhar project. He very smartly breaks the movie into multiple tightly written and executed chapters which is one of the reasons the movie even at a really really long run time of 3 and a half hours is highly engaging and entertaining. Almost every scene, character, dialog is an essential part of the screenplay and important in taking the story forward and making the long run time gripping without losing its target audience. The real star of Dhurandhar is Aditya Dhar for creating and delivering on his vision.

Then comes the characters and the actors who inhabit them on the screen. The movie's main protagonist -Hamza Ali Mazari AKA Jaskirat Singh Rangi played brilliantly by Ranveer Singh is the Indian Agent infiltrating the underworld of Lyari area in Karachi which Dhar created in a real location in Thailand instead of in a studio or infont of green screens. Ranveer may have invoked the character of Hamza in part from Gully Boy's Murad and in part from Padmaavat's Khilji but the final result is an effective character of a troubled, skilled, smart, dangerous patriot on a mission. The force behind the creation of Dhurandhar's spy is Ajay Sanyal, the director of the Intelligence Bureau, a character that has truly been inhabited and brought to life by an exceptional Madhavan.

If a story's protagonist is as good as the antagonist then we are heading in for a treat to the other side with a buffet of well writen and enacted group of adversaries with real depth and character. The brightest of them all is Rehman Dakait, a role in which Akshaye Khanna literally becomes the much feared and notorious real life gangster. Akshaye Khanna gives such depth to the character that one can see both the human and the devil that resides within. Akshaye's Rehman Dakait is one of the highlights of Dhurandhar's first part and one of the main reasons to go on this 3 and a half hour journey through the streets of Lyari. Arjun Rampal's Major Iqbal takes evil and brutality to a completely new level and with the limited screen time in this part, he is only warming up. In this part, Rampal has shown the potential to create a villain for the ages, so hoping that with Part 2 he can unleash the real devil.

A special mention to Rakesh Bedi who has done a great job in creating the slimy and evil politician Jameel Jamali in what is not only his longest role in a mainstream movie but one that not only parallels but far exceeds his funny supporting roles of Chashme Buddoor and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Sanjay Dutt as SP Chaudhary Aslam is good but is missing the edge, intensity and cut throatedness that one would expect from a character with the nickname, "The Jinn". Rest of the cast is good in their respective roles with Danish Pandor as Uzair Baloch and Naveen Kaushik as Donga standing out as Rehman Dakait's faithful gang members. Sara Arjun is decent in a small role which has been set up appropriately, lesser as a romantic interest and more as an important step in the mission.

The real location, the gritty action sequences, the gut wrenching visceral beatings and torture scenes are further augmented by its eclectic background score. The movie doesnt get distracted much by unnecessary songs. Arijit's Gehra Hua is a pleasant break from the movie's ever growing tension. Shararat is a bit of a sub-par song that was not needed in the movie but it is easily forgiven because of the spectacular background songs like Hanumankind's title track and Ez-Ez along with the multiple old Bollywood classics splattered through the movie.

If you were looking forward to watch the movie after experiencing its hyperviolent and gory teaser and trailer, then you are its target audience and will not be disappointed. Overall the movie is extremely gripping and well made with brilliant performances and very good direction. It is long but not boring. It is brutal and gory but not at the level expected. It is not an easy watch but almost a must watch. Overall it is highly entertaining. I really enjoyed it and cant wait for Part 2 on March 19th when the real action will get unleashed, the true evil of some the characters will come forth, a peak will get provided into the protagonist's troubled past, a big character reveal may take the tension to the next level and real chaos will descend on the world of Dhurandhar. 8/10.

Homebound beautifully showcases the product of good writing, direction, acting, cinematography etc which is realistic, thought provoking, gripping and on the whole really good cinema. The heart of the movie is friendship while the soul and spirit of the movie is social inequality seen with a magnifying glass of the pandemic. Neeraj Ghaywan does a great job in subtly commenting on the struggle which certain sections of society face and their attempt to break through to a life that most would considered normal.

Ishaan Khatter gives the best performance of his career till date and Vishal Jethwa who has already proven himself a couple of times, gives another heartbreaking performance. Even Jahnvi gives a decent performance in a role that is very uncharacteristic and unglamorous as compared to her other movies. The acting in the movie is top notch.

Even though the movie comes from Dharma productions, it is certainly not a Bollywood mainstream movie. Homebound is not about entertainment but about artistic expression of the film maker's social consciousness. This is art and creativity at its finest. A movie that would make even the greatest storytellers of the nation's soul like Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy, B. R. Chopra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Shyam Benegal and others really really proud. Homebound is relevant, thought provoking, heart breaking and must watch artistic cinema. Loved it. 9/10.