Indian audiences watching the period spy thriller Dhurandhar will see a revised version of the film after its makers muted and altered certain dialogues following objections from members of the Baloch community and directives from India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
According to Indian media reports, the film – now the highest-grossing Hindi film domestically – was edited after a line of dialogue was widely criticised as hate speech against the Baloch community. The changes include the alteration of one dialogue and the muting of two words, one of which originally contained the word “Baloch”.
The controversy erupted soon after the film’s release, the Makrani Baloch community in Junagadh, Gujarat, protested against it. The objection centred on a line delivered by actor Sanjay Dutt, who plays Chaudhry Aslam in the film, stating: “You can trust a crocodile, but not a Baloch.” Protesters said the dialogue portrayed the community as untrustworthy and amounted to collective defamation.
Ejaz Makrani, president of the Junagadh Baloch Makrani Society and a practising advocate, filed a formal application at a local police station seeking legal action against the actor, the dialogue writer and the film’s director. He argued that the dialogue had damaged the dignity and reputation of the Baloch community. Another lawyer, Nabil Baloch, also served a legal notice to director Aditya Dhar and Sanjay Dutt, demanding a public apology and the removal of the disputed content from the film, its trailers and promotional material.
The matter also reached the Gujarat High Court, where petitions were filed by members of the community. During a hearing last week, Justice A P Mayee asked the petitioners to explain how the dialogue amounted to defamation of the Baloch Makrani community, according to Indian media reports.
Subsequently, distributors informed cinema owners across India that a revised Digital Cinema Package (DCP) was being issued. Sources quoted by Bollywood Hungama said theatres received official communication on December 31 stating that the changes were made in line with instructions from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. India Today later confirmed that the edited version of Dhurandhar has now been released nationwide.
Despite the controversy and subsequent censorship, the film’s commercial performance has remained strong. Within 29 days of its release, Dhurandhar has reportedly earned approximately 7.4 billion Indian rupees at the box office, surpassing previous domestic records.