Dhurandhar Ranks On Top In Pakistan After Netflix Release, Naveen Kaushik Says 'Anticipated Hate But...' - EXCL

Dhurandhar

arrived on Netflix quietly, but the impact was loud enough for the world to take note. Aditya Dhar’s second directorial was a theatrical blockbuster. Every character shown in the film left a mark and the internet celebrated the actors for their efforts. Due to its ‘anti-Pakistan content’, Dhurandhar was banned in six Gulf countries and in the neighbouring nation too. Netflix took the spy thriller to all corners of the world. Much to everyone’s surprise, it became the top film in Pakistan in the first week. Naveen Kaushik, who played Donga in Dhurandhar, reacted to receiving love from the audience across the border.

Naveen Kaushik reacts to Dhurandhar's Netflix Pakistan release

Talking to Zoom, the actor recalled getting messages through social media, appreciating the team for authentic representation of the neighbouring country. Naveen said, “When Dhurandhar released, it was the most pirated movie in Pakistan. We got a lot of love from people across the border. They loved our work and appreciated how Lyari and Karachi were recreated in our film. It was authentic, and they were appreciative of that.”

He added, “We received a lot of love from them on social media. Now that it has released on Netflix, the love is growing more. We are getting daily messages and calls from people there. A lot of them who were raised in Pakistan and are now settled in London are also reaching out to us, appreciating the authenticity of the lingo and using terminologies that are local to that area. People were apprehensive that we would get backlash from across the border, but that hasn’t been the case.”

Pakistan announced Mera Lyari in 2025

Days after Dhurandhar’s theatrical release on December 5, 2025, Pakistan's Sindh government and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced a film titled Mera Lyari on December 13, 2025. Reportedly, it was in response to Dhurandhar’s ‘negative’ projection of the locality. Aditya’s film was set in Lyari, a no-go locality in Karachi, where gang wars between Rehman Dakait and his rivals were frequent before he died in 2009. Memon’s tweet accused Dhurandhar of spreading negative propaganda against Pakistan by targetting Lyari, which, according to him, was the land of culture, peace, talent, and resilience.

Dhurandhar banned

Despite repeated efforts by the makers, Dhurandhar couldn’t secure a theatrical release in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Due to this, the film lost around Rs 90 crore business. Apart from Naveen, Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun, Saumya Tandon, Danish Pandor and many others.