Gen Z Cannot Resist A Good-Old Espionage Film

More importantly, Dhar’s cinema speaks in a language Gen Z already understands. For a generation that often consumes national events through Instagram clips and angry X comments, his films make power feel less institutional and more personal.

Inside the World of  RAW and Lyari’s Underworld

What makes Aditya Dhar’s storytelling land is the depth with which he uses events like the Kandahar hijack, the Parliament and 26/11 attack, not just as references, but as narrative anchors that help younger audiences understand how terror networks are built, funded and ideologically driven. 

Instead of reducing these incidents to textbook history, the films unpack how the underworld, espionage, politics and extremist ecosystems overlap. 

Hamza becomes the emotional centre of that world. Ranveer Singh’s character is not simply an undercover RAW agent. He carries the psychological cost of operating inside enemy systems. 

Then comes Ajay Sanyal (R. Madhavan), one of the most important characters in the franchise. Inspired by India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Sanyal represents precision, patience and the philosophy that personal gain never comes before national duty. His presence quietly reinforces one recurring idea in Dhar’s cinema: The nation comes first, always. 

Patriotism, Music and the Gen Z Memory Loop

One thing Bollywood had been missing for a while was music that becomes part of a film’s larger cultural afterlife. Dhar seems to understand that instinctively. Whether it is Rehman Dakait’s now iconic entry track or the romantic track by Arijit Singh that softens the film’s otherwise brutal world.

The same instinct existed in Uri, where Vicky Kaushal’s Major Vihaan Shergill gave audiences a quote that instantly entered youth culture: “How’s the Josh? High Sir!!” It was more than a line. It became the kind of cinematic shorthand that Gen Z converts into captions, edits and identity.

In Dhurandhar, that same psychological play happens through espionage and Karachi’s mafia world. The film shows how criminal syndicates, political handlers, and covert terror financing often exist in the same ecosystem. 

Why The Characters Outlive the Plot

The reason the Dhurandhar universe stays with young viewers is its characters. Akshaye Khanna’s Rehman Dakait is the clearest example. He is dangerous and morally grey, but what makes him memorable is the humanity written into him.

Rehman’s dynamic with his wife and family gives him emotional texture, which is often why audiences end up obsessing over him more than the hero. When a villain carries loyalty, intimacy and a code of his own, people naturally lean in harder.

Then there is Rakesh Bedi’s Jameel Jamali, one of the most unexpectedly effective characters in the series. He brings a mix of political cunning, dark humour and opportunism that makes the larger terror politics web thrive.  

That is the real reason these films stay with Gen Z. They do not just offer heroes and villains. They offer systems through people. They make young viewers think about how narratives are controlled, how power moves through handlers and how ideology often hides behind charisma.

Views expressed by the author are their own.