Uncover the real life figures that inspired the characters in Dhurandhar The Revenge, from Pakistani politicians and notorious gangsters to infamous terrorists.
Key Points
- Sanjay Dutt's character in Dhurandhar is inspired by Chaudhry Aslam Khan, a real-life Pakistani police officer known for his crackdown on gangsters.
- Arjun Rampal's Major Iqbal is based on Ilyas Kashmiri, a militant leader linked to al-Qaeda and various terrorist plots.
- R Madhavan portrays a character inspired by Ajit Kumar Doval, India's national security advisor, mentoring a character for intelligence operations in Pakistan.
- Several characters in Dhurandhar 2 are based on prominent Pakistani figures, including politicians like Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, and gangster Uzair Baloch.
Aditya Dhar has crafted his Dhurandhar movies with a lot of detail, basing the characters on real life people, even as he tells a fictional tale.
Ranveer Singh's Hamza Ali Mazari is a fictional Indian spy penetrating into the Pakistani terror groups, out for revenge.
A look at just who the real life characters are, with special reference to the second part.
Sanjay Dutt as SP Chaudhary Aslam
Sanjay Dutt's SP Chaudhary Aslam is inspired by real-life Pakistani cop Chaudhry Aslam Khan, known for his encounter killings of criminals.
On January 9, 2014, Aslam Khan was killed in a suicide car bombing, carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
Rakesh Bedi as Jameel Jamali
Rakesh Bedi's Jameel Jamali is based on Nabeel Gabol, a Pakistani veteran politician and senior member of Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party. He was a member of the national assembly, Pakistan's parliament.
While Rakesh Bedi's portrayal of the character was top notch, Gabol would probably not accept the big twist in the end.
Arjun Rampal as Major Iqbal
Arjun Rampal's Major Iqbal is inspired by Ilyas Kashmiri, a dreaded terrorist linked to al-Qaeda, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and various terrorist plots, including connections to David Coleman Headley, one of the key accused in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.
Kashmiri was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in 2011.
R Madhavan as Ajay Sanyal
R Madhavan's Ajay Sanyal is inspired by National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval. He is shown mentoring Ranveer Singh's character, preparing him for high-stakes intelligence and combat operations in Pakistan.
Doval, a former Intelligence Bureau director, is known for his operational expertise and role in reshaping India's security infrastructure.
Danish Pandor as Uzair Baloch
Uzair Baloch led the Lyari gang network, which is involved in extortion, kidnappings, targeted killings and smuggling.
He was closely associated with political and criminal alliances in Lyari, a Karachi neighbourhood known for gang violence.
Although some of the over 50 criminal cases registered against him were dropped or resulted in acquittal, Baloch, who is currently in prison, is not expected to be released due to his 12-year sentence for espionage in 2020.
Danish Iqbal as Dawood Ibrahim
Mumbai-born Dawood Ibrahim masterminded the March 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed more than 250 people.
'Dawood Is De Facto Ruler Of Pakistan'
Mashhoor Amrohi as Nawab Shafiq
Mashhoor Amrohi's Nawab Shafiq is inspired by Mian Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister.
Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif's younger brother, is the current prime minister of Pakistan.
Sanjay Mehandiratta as Asif Ali Zarwari
Inspired by Pakistan's current President Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of Pakistan's late prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Their only son Bilawal Bhutto is currently chairman of the Pakistan People's Party.
Aditya Uppal as Assistant Sub Inspector Omar Haider
Omar Haider is inspired by Omar Shahid Hamid, one of the policeman monitoring the Lyari Task Force.
In a post on X, the real Omar recently admitted that Indian intelligence agencies had infiltrated the gangs of Karachi.
Udaybir Sandhu as Gurbaaz Pinda
In Dhurandhar The Revenge, Pinda -- also known as Gurbaaz Singh -- plays a drug dealer, who smuggles drugs from Pakistan to Punjab, and has links with the ISI.
The character is inspired by Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, who reportedly died of a drug overdose in 2022.
Salim Siddiqui as Atif Ahmed
The character is inspired by Atiq Ahmed, who was elected as an MLA in UP five times from 1989 to 2004 on different party tickets.
In 2005, he was accused of killing Bahujan Samaj Party leader Raju Pal and also involved in many crimes like extortion and kidnapping.
He was arrested in 2017 after which he was moved to different jails in India.
In 2023, he and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in public in Prayagraj by three killers posing as journalists.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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