Dhurandhar: Karachi’s Lyari Gang Wars – 20 Burning Questions Answered

It is loosely inspired. The film borrows the broad setting of Lyari during the 2008–2013 period, the People’s Amn Committee (PAC), Rehman Dakait, Baba Ladla, and the eventual police/ranger operation, but heavily fictionalizes the events. The Indian spy infiltrating Lyari and the climactic RAW-ISI showdown are pure invention.

Lyari is overwhelmingly Baloch. The main gangs (Rehman Dakait’s PAC, later Uzair Baloch’s faction) were Baloch-dominated and fought against Katchi (Pashtun/Mohajir) drug gangs from areas like Sohrab Goth and Banaras. The conflict had an intense ethnic color, with Lyari gangs positioning themselves as “defenders of Baloch rights” against “outsiders.”

The PPP openly backed Rehman Dakait and the PAC until 2011, providing them with political protection in exchange for votes and influence. When Rehman was killed (2009), the relationship soured. MQM and ANP supported rival gangs. Politicians armed and shielded gangsters; gangsters delivered polling stations. Classic Karachi politics.

Arshad Pappu’s rival, Uzair Baloch’s predecessor, Rehman Dakait (real name Abdul Rehman Baloch), was a feared gangster who controlled Lyari through extortion and drug money. To many poor residents, he was also a Robin Hood figure who built schools, clinics, and distributed rations. That duality is why some still call him “Bhai.”

By 2012–13, Lyari had become a no-go zone even for the police. After the PPP lost control of Uzair Baloch and gang wars paralyzed the city, the federal government launched a paramilitary (Rangers) operation in 2013. Thousands of arrests, hundreds killed in encounters, the backbone of gang networks was broken.

Lyari gangs got arms mainly through the Afghan transit trade route (via Balochistan) and dhows from Muscat. Pakistani investigators have repeatedly accused Uzair Baloch of receiving funding and arms from RAW (claims he confessed to in custody), but hard, independent evidence has never been made public. India denies it.

Because post-2019, jingoistic films set in Pakistan sell like hot cakes in India. Lyari offered a ready-made chaotic backdrop that could be spiced up with an Indian super-spy without offending any domestic Indian community.

100 % fiction. No credible record exists of an Indian undercover officer operating inside Lyari during the gang wars.

Yes, heavily. Real Lyari violence was an internal Pakistani law-and-order and political failure. The film reframes it as an Indian masterstroke, a classic Bollywood propaganda technique also seen in Uri and Phantom.

No. That was internet speculation because Major Mohit Sharma (Ashok Chakra) operated undercover in Kashmir. The filmmakers have never confirmed it.

Chaudhry Aslam (the fearless cop assassinated by TTP in 2014) appears as a character. The film portrays him as a brutal but effective officer, a largely accurate portrayal that primarily reflects his honest reputation.

Because the filmmakers wanted a bigger canvas, merging Lyari’s urban gangsters with the broader “India destabilizing Balochistan” narrative (Jadhav’s arrest in 2016) creates a more “nationalist” climax for Indian audiences.

Fear. The subject is still too raw, too political, and too many influential people (politicians, police, ex-gangsters) are still alive. No one wants the backlash.

Mostly bad in Pakistan’s view. It reinforces the image of Karachi as a lawless, violent city and of Pakistan as a failing state that needed an imaginary Indian spy to clean it up.

Yes. Real Lyari encounters were gruesome: bodies dumped in gutters, limbs chopped off. The film stylizes the violence and gives gangsters heroic slow-motion entries.

Artists like Talha Anjum, Faris Shafi, and Young Stunners grew up in or around Lyari during the era of gang wars. Their lyrics are full of references to “bhai log,” AK-47s, and no-go zones. The film uses a fictionalized version of that soundtrack.

For the action and set pieces, yes. For historical accuracy, no. Most viewers say the last hour drags.

Pakistan refused shooting permission, and even if it had allowed it, no insurance company would have covered a Bollywood crew in the actual Lyari. They built massive sets in Mumbai’s Film City, including the famous Lyari arched gate.

In India: no significant cuts. In Pakistan, the film is effectively banned (no formal release).

It is louder and more exaggerated than both. URI stayed closer to documented events; Raazi was subtle. Dhurandhar is pure adrenaline, logic optional.