Mar 20, 2026 7:09pm IST
‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ Names Dawood Ibrahim Openly; Nikkhil Advani Says The Antagonist in His ‘D-Day’ Inspired By The Global Terrorist Saw Him Get 3 Years of Threats
One of the key elements in “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” is the presence of Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He is shown living in a mansion called The White House, in Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan. His condition is rather unflattering as shown on screen. Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the 1993 bombings in Mumbai; a global terrorist and wanted by India for murder, extortion, and terrorism, features in three crucial scenes.
Interestingly, while the names of all other characters in the film, based on real persons, have been changed, Ibrahim is an exception. His name flashes on the screen when he appears.
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The gangster who is also addressed as ‘Bade Saab’ in the film, is known to be sensitive to his portrayal on celluloid.
Producer-Director Nikkhil Advani knows this first hand. His film, “D-Day” (2013), was about a covert Indian operation to abduct India's most wanted criminal, Goldman (a character inspired by Dawood Ibrahim), from Karachi. Even though the character played by Rishi Kapoor was not named Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don felt it would be easy to guess it was him, and he wanted certain scenes in the film to be deleted.
Even before the release of the film, the director got a call to delete an ‘unflattering’ scene. When Nikkhil refused to do so, he began getting death threats. When he remained adamant, the threats increased. ‘They’ would monitor his every movement and even his family. He was harassed for three years, and he had to live under police cover.
Which is what makes Aditya Dhar's scenes involving the underworld don nothing less than a courageous attempt. Because knowing there could be backlash and still going ahead with it, is what makes him the real Dhurandhar.
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