Dhurandhar banned in Middle East: Here's why GCC nations blocked anti-pakistan film

Aditya Dhar's directorial, Ranveer Singh starrer Dhurandhar, is making waves at the box office. The film is inching towards the Rs 200-crore club. Amid positive word-of-mouth reviews, many actors and netizens have slammed the film and dubbed it a propaganda movie, with some even calling it anti-Pakistan and accusing it of involving unnecessary politics. On the other hand, critics are lauding the film. Amid negative reviews, many reviews have also been forced to pull down, the recent one being Anupama Chopra's review for The Hollywood Reporter.

Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar banned in UAE

Six Gulf nations—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman-, have imposed a ban on the Ranveer Singh starrer. Reportedly, the reason behind this decision is its alleged strong anti-Pakistan narrative.

As per a report in Bollywood Hungama, the film has not been released in Gulf countries or the UAE/GCC belt. However, it has been said that the makers tried to get clearance for the movie; unfortunately, they didn't get approval.

The report adds that there were apprehensions that this would happen, as the film is perceived as an "anti-Pakistan film." Also, in the past, such films have failed to procure a release in this region. Yet, the team of Dhurandhar made an attempt, but sadly, all the countries did not approve of the theme of the film. "This is why Dhurandhar hasn't been released in any of the Gulf countries..."

The Gulf region, home to many Indian migrants, is one of the crucial markets for Indian films and plays a major role in box office numbers. However, this ban would hamper the overall net collection of the movie.

Dhurandhar audience reviews

Going by some of the tweets, many Pakistanis claim to have watched the film and shared the reviews on the platform. Here are some of the netizens outside India who have watched the film. 

A clip shows a woman reviewing the film, she says, "To all my Pakistani fellows, yeh movie dekhne aayein. Bilkul anti-Pakistan movie nahi hai. History dikhayi gayi hai, facts dikhaye gaye hain..."

While another woman shared, "I absolutely loved the movie. Sab characters bohot zyada acche the. Mera personal favourite Ranveer Singh tha, mujhe bohot accha laga... Koi aisa actor nahi tha jiski acting buri thi. Movie ki direction, songs, everything was top! Must-watch. Open mind ke saath dekhein, please."

This is not the first time the UAE has banned an Indian film over an anti-Pakistan stance. In 2024, Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's Fighter was banned in Gulf countries and the UAE. Earlier this year, Akshay Kumar's Sky Force and the John Abraham-starrer The Diplomat were also banned in several Middle Eastern countries over their content.

It's been exactly a week since the film hit the theatres. 

The makers have confirmed a second part, officially titled Dhurandhar 2—Revenge, which is set to arrive in theatres on March 19, 2026, and will be clashing with Yash's Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups.

Dhurandhar cast

The film features Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Manav Gohil, Danish Pandor, Saumya Tandon, and Gaurav Gera, among others.