Critical reception
Dhurandhar received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 35% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.80/10.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh gave 4.5/5 stars and described the film as a "brilliant" and "power-packed" action spectacle, citing its strong storytelling and box-office appeal. Gayatri Nirmal of Pinkvilla gave 4/5 stars and praised the second-half, screenplay, and background score but criticised the runtime. Siddhant Adlakha of IGN rated the film 8/10 stars and wrote "Bollywood gangster saga Dhurandhar walks a fine line between raucous entertainment and hateful propaganda."
Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and calling the film a "power-packed Karachi mafia thriller" where lead actor Ranveer Singh delivers a "subdued yet scorching" performance that largely anchors the film's impact. She highlighted the film's immersive world-building, the gritty, violent underworld of Karachi's Lyari mafia through a narrative structured in multiple chapters, with a runtime of nearly three-and-a-half hours that nevertheless "rarely feels overbearing", owing to what is described as "stylish, tight storytelling."
Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar is a film that refuses to be contained by the grammar of a conventional spy thriller." Bollywood Hungama gave 3/5 stars and called it a well-made, ambitious big-screen experience with top-notch craft, memorable moments and some truly outstanding performances. Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times gave 3/5 stars and described it as a "lengthy yet loaded spy drama", highlighting the performances of Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna as well Aditya Dhar's direction. He also noted the film occasionally feels too long and dense with too many sub-plots.
Radhika Sharma of NDTV gave 3/5 stars and praised the cast performances and soundtrack, but criticised the second half calling it "a completely different film altogether." Taher Ahmed of Deccan Herald gave 3/5 stars and praised the performances, cinematography, and soundtrack, but criticised the runtime, pacing, and climax.
Simran Khan of Times Now gave 3/5 stars and wrote "The Aditya Dhar actioner's ending doesn't quite justify its lengthy runtime. However the adrenaline-pumping set pieces and relentless high-voltage action, paired with a background score that amplifies the drama and keeps the tension from ever dipping, make the ride worth it." Karthik Ravindranath of The Week gave 3/5 stars and wrote "The film's powerful core is diluted by overt jingoism, unnecessary elements, and a tendency to dumb down its message for the audience. Despite these irritants, it remains a largely engaging, albeit flawed, tribute to India's heroes." Vineeta Kumar of India Today gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Dhurandhar is a sprawling, muscular, politically sharp thriller that bites off a lot, and thanks to Khanna's explosive brilliance, chews most of it successfully."
Kartik Bhardwaj of The New Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The Aditya Dhar directorial seems like a film which is asking for your time, so that it can lay down its cards. But then two hours have passed and the ace seems to be still far up its sleeves." Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Dhurandhar may not have the dark realism of a spy story, which a web show can manage. But it does not have the flamboyance either that has come to be associated with espionage movies."
Shalini Langer of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars, and described the film as an "ambitious spy thriller" that ultimately works only "in flashes". She praised the film's scale, production values, and the attempt to depict the many layers of Lyari's criminal, political, and familial dynamics. However, she argued that despite its large cast and multiple narrative strands, the film only intermittently comes together, with its storytelling lacking consistency.
Sakhi Thirani of Common Sense Media gave 1/5 stars and wrote "Despite dealing with sensitive issues like terrorism and war, Dhurandhar lacks a sincere or thoughtful storyline. Instead, it's more concerned with romanticizing torture, aggression, and machismo without examining the consequences of such violence." Sadanand Dhume of The Wall Street Journal wrote "Dhurandhar is the first major Bollywood movie to realistically portray the terrorist threat India faces." Columnist Shobhaa De wrote "It's not about politics. It's about a story – perhaps fictionalised. ... I won't mind watching it all over again. Yes, three and a half hours of it." Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "A considerable stretch of the staggering 214-minute film is no different from gangland chronicles led by swaggering, aphorism-dripping men. Hamza's rise to the top of the Karachi underworld is soaked in blood and cliche".
Athulya Nambiar of Mid-Day wrote "It's too soon to judge Dhurandhar as a good or bad film, simply because the story isn't complete yet." Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote "Moored by a charismatic Akshaye Khanna and a brooding Ranveer Singh, Aditya Dhar's ambitious but overstretched and chest-thumping espionage saga serves political interests, tests endurance." Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Aditya Dhar's second film after Uri: The Surgical Strike stars Ranveer Singh as a patriotic spy trapped in an inert and distracted action thriller." Uday Bhatia of Mint wrote "Dhurandhar offers sadism and expert bad vibes and it shares something else fundamental with Dhar's previous work—it's propaganda in service of a hawkish India, designed to flatter the ruling BJP leadership."
