Bollywood’s biggest spy franchise just received an unusual endorsement—not from a trade analyst or a fan club, but from a serving diplomat. Mumin Chen, the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, named Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar the most impressive Indian film he watched last year.
Chen made the comment at the Taiwan Film Festival in New Delhi, where Taiwanese documentaries and dramas are being screened to introduce Indian audiences to Taiwan’s culture, technology and sporting achievements.
A political-science lens on a spy saga
Chen explained that his day job shapes his movie habits. As a political science professor and ambassador, he watches many political films from India. Last year, he said, the one that stood out was Dhurandhar.
“The most impressive one I saw was Dhurandhar.”
That is a short line, but it lands differently when it comes from a diplomat who teaches politics. It shifts the conversation from whether a film is entertaining to what it says about power, loyalty and borders.
What the franchise has achieved
Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, also known as Hamza Ali Mazari, an Indian spy sent to Lyari in Pakistan to dismantle a terror unit. He infiltrates a Baloch gang, marries the daughter of a local politician and builds a life inside the community he is investigating.
The first film opened on December 5, 2025, and collected ₹1307 crore worldwide. The sequel arrived on March 19 this year and went further with ₹1790 crore globally, making the franchise one of Bollywood’s biggest recent theatrical successes.
- Dhurandhar: ₹1307 crore worldwide
- Dhurandhar 2: ₹1790 crore worldwide
- Cast: Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sara Arjun and more
Aamir, Shah Rukh and the bigger picture
Chen did not stop at one film. He called Aamir Khan “very impressive,” recalling the actor’s work from his younger days and his more recent turn as a producer of films about Indian society and serious social issues. He also said he loves “bigger movie icons” such as Shah Rukh Khan.
For celebrity-watchers, this is a reminder that Bollywood’s biggest titles can gain cultural traction long after opening weekend. Festival panels and diplomatic appearances give films like Dhurandhar a second life in serious conversation.
It also shows how a commercial spy thriller can become a reference point for soft power. When an envoy uses a film to talk about political cinema, the audience is no longer just counting box-office numbers—it is looking at the story’s ideas.
For Bollywood fans already following the franchise, the comment is a neat piece of validation. For those who have not seen it, the political backdrop and the box-office numbers together make an easy case for a weekend watch.
Source: Hindustan Times
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