1984 riots to Khalistan: Here's what Aditya Dhar changed in ‘Dhurandhar 2’ before its release, now included in the UNCUT version

Aditya Dhar's spy thriller ‘Dhurandhar’ has garnered significant attention for how realistically it portrays India's political and social world. The film is about an Indian spy working in Karachi and uses real names and references to real people from politics, government, and terrorism. But viewers who watched the film closely have noticed that one important storyline was removed. That storyline had a connection to one of the most painful events in Indian history, the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.The recently released uncut version of ‘Dhurandhar’, titled Raw and Undekha, has given viewers on Netflix and JioHotstar a fresh reason to revisit the film. Many of them are doing exactly that, combing through scenes and spotting Easter eggs and subtle changes that were not visible in the original theatrical release. One of the most talked-about discoveries involves a key scene right at the interval, where two childhood friends find themselves on opposite sides of a tense confrontation. When Hamza aka Jaskirat (Ranveer Singh) corners his old friend Pinda (Udaybir Sandhu) over his involvement in drug peddling and smuggling into India, the exchange takes a deeply emotional turn. As Jaskirat hints at Pinda's betrayal of his country, Pinda fires back with words that carry years of pain and hurt. "Keda desh, wo Desh jinne hume apna maneya hi nahi (The country that never accepted us as one of its own)."But viewers have now noticed something very important about that scene. The line that Pinda speaks in the film is not the original line, it has been dubbed over with a different dialogue. Reddit users who dug deeper found out what the original line actually was. In Punjabi, Pinda's original line was, "Keda desh? Wo desh jinne chaurasi vich apne bhaiyo nu mareya tha." This translates to: The same country that killed our brothers in '84. This line is a direct reference to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, which killed thousands of people and is seen as one of the darkest moments in India's history. It is also considered the time when the Khalistani insurgency in Punjab was at its highest point.The dialogue was not the only thing that was changed in the film. ‘Dhurandhar’ also quietly renamed one of its characters between the two parts. In the first ‘Dhurandhar’, a character appeared in the credits under the name Happy PhD. In part 2, the same character was renamed Sunny DVD. The reason behind this change becomes clear when you look at who Happy PhD really was. Harmeet Singh, known by the name Happy PhD, was a real Khalistani militant and the chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force. He was declared a terrorist by India and was killed in 2020 under circumstances that remain mysterious and unexplained to this day.Once the screengrabs and details of these changes started doing the rounds on Reddit on Tuesday, it did not take long for viewers to share their reactions. Some were simply curious about what the original version of the film looked like. "Man I really wanna know what was the original movie like without any scenes cut, removed, or altered," wrote one. Others felt that the changes were a deliberate creative and safety decision. "Aditya Dhar played it safe, keeping the focus on the Pakistani terror angle," argued another. However, not everyone agreed that the changes were necessary or even effective. "But did these changes really help. Sunny DVD part was anyway not the main thing in that chapter. As for pinda, it was evident he is khalistani. So I don't think dubbing those dialogues did any help. The khalistani angle was pretty evident. Someone in Canada slashed the screen on day 1, so you can imagine the message has been conveyed," pointed out another user.‘Dhurandhar 2’ is written and directed by Aditya Dhar and features Ranveer Singh in the lead role as an Indian spy who goes undercover to infiltrate the gangs and terror networks operating inside Pakistan. The film boasts of a strong supporting cast that includes Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun. Beyond its bold storytelling and gripping narrative, the film also made a massive impact at the box office, collecting a staggering Rs 1800 crore worldwide.