Actor Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, which was banned in Pakistan and several Gulf countries during its theatrical run, has found an unexpected afterlife across the border. After becoming accessible to Pakistani audiences via its Netflix release, the spy thriller has now made its way into the country’s pirated markets, where copies are being sold at very cheap price.
Recently, New Zealand-based YouTuber Karl Rock posted a video on his Instagram documenting how pirated copies of director Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller are being openly sold in markets across Pakistan.
In the video, he is seen walking through busy streets in Pakistan when he unexpectedly comes across pirated copies of 'Dhurandhar' being sold openly. He was at Karachi’s Rainbow Centre.
“Indian films are banned in Pakistan, but look what I found, and this is a new film, yeah, from Hindustan,” Karl says while approaching a shop owner. He then shows a screen with the poster of Ranveer in 'Dhurandhar', with the shop keeper telling him that this is the most recent film.
The YouTuber then talks about Ranveer, saying, “I can tell you a thing or two about Ranveer Singh. He's a Sindhi. His grandparents are from this city, I think, and they came across to India during partition.”
The video further captures him stopping to ask the shopkeeper about the price of the pirated copy. He is told that it is selling for PKR 50 (approximately Rs 16). “Bahut sasta (it’s very cheap),” Karl is seen exclaiming.
The video has quickly grabbed attention on social media.
Dhurandhar released in theatres on December 5 last year, and has emerged as a massive hit collecting Rs 1,428 crores. The film is led by Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Rakesh Bedi among others.
Set in Lyari town of Karachi, the Aditya Dhar film revolves around covert intelligence operations against the backdrop of geopolitical and terror events like the Kandahar plane hijack, the 2001 Parliament Attack and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Its sequel ' Dhurandhar: The Revenge' is set to release in theatres on March 19.