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Mission Ready -- 10 High-Octane Spy Thrillers to Watch If You’re Excited for ‘Dhurandhar’
The wait is finally over! This week, the silver screen prepares for an explosion of adrenaline as director Aditya Dhar - the mastermind behind Uri: The Surgical Strike—returns with his massive espionage drama, Dhurandhar. Slated for release on December 5th, the film stars Ranveer Singh in a never-seen-before avatar as a gritty RAW agent.
Set against the volatile backdrop of the early 2000s, Dhurandhar promises a high-stakes mission deep within enemy territory to dismantle a terror network. With a power-packed ensemble cast including Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, and R. Madhavan, the film is set to redefine the spy genre. If you love edge-of-the-seat covert operations and patriotic fervour, here are 10 similar Bollywood blockbusters to add to your watchlist. -
Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) The Director’s Previous Masterpiece
You can't talk about Dhurandhar without mentioning the film that made Aditya Dhar a household name. Uri: The Surgical Strike is the perfect cinematic appetizer. Based on the true events of the 2016 retaliation by the Indian Army, the film is celebrated for its slick action, technical brilliance, and Vicky Kaushal's powerhouse performance. Like Dhurandhar, it blends real-life inspiration with high-octane dramatization, proving that Dhar knows exactly how to handle patriotic action thrillers.
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Baby (2015) The Gold Standard of Covert Ops
Before spy universes became a trend, Neeraj Pandey's Baby set the benchmark for realistic, no-nonsense espionage thrillers. Starring Akshay Kumar, the film follows an elite, temporary task force on a secret mission to eliminate terrorists before they strike India. The film's 'quiet' action, lack of unnecessary melodrama, and focus on the intricacies of a covert operation in foreign lands make it a spiritual sibling to the mission-oriented plot of Dhurandhar.
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Raazi (2018) The Silent Watcher
While Dhurandhar promises firepower, Raazi reminds us that espionage is often about silence and shadows. Meghna Gulzar's masterpiece stars Alia Bhatt as Sehmat, a young woman married into a Pakistani military family to relay information to India during the 1971 war. It highlights the vulnerability and immense courage required for undercover work. For those interested in the psychological aspect of being a spy behind enemy lines, this film is essential viewing.
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Phantom (2015) A Seek-and-Destroy Mission
Directed by Kabir Khan, Phantom is based on the premise of a secret, unauthorized mission to eliminate the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Saif Ali Khan plays a disgraced soldier who goes rogue to carry out assassinations across the globe, eventually leading him to Pakistan. The film's 'eye for an eye' narrative and cross-border action sequences resonate strongly with the revenge-driven justice themes often explored in Aditya Dhar's cinema.
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Ek Tha Tiger (2012) The Romance of Espionage
This is the film that kickstarted Bollywood's modern obsession with spies. While it leans heavily into romance, Ek Tha Tiger introduced us to the swag of a RAW agent who can fight his way out of any situation. Salman Khan's Tiger is a more larger-than-life figure compared to the gritty realism expected in Dhurandhar, but the core premise—an Indian agent on a mission abroad—remains a genre staple that paved the way for big-budget spy actioners.
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Bell Bottom (2021) The Retro Spy Thriller
Since Dhurandhar is reportedly set in the early 2000s and references events like the IC-814 hijacking, Bell Bottom is a great companion piece. Set in the 1980s, it stars Akshay Kumar as a flamboyant RAW agent tasked with solving a plane hijacking situation. The film creates a stylish period atmosphere and focuses on the 'chess game' between intelligence agencies and terrorists, providing a historical context to the long-standing shadow war against terror.
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Mission Majnu (2023) The Unsung Heroes
Sidharth Malhotra starrer Mission Majnu takes us back to the 1970s, telling the story of an undercover Indian agent in Pakistan who plays a crucial role in exposing their nuclear weapons program. The film focuses heavily on the 'human intel' side of spying -- living a double life, building relationships, and the constant fear of exposure. It's a tribute to the unsung heroes of Indian intelligence, a sentiment that Dhurandhar also aims to honor.
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Romeo Akbar Walter (2019) The Many Faces of a Spy
John Abraham's Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) is a moody, atmospheric drama about a banker recruited for espionage in Pakistan prior to the 1971 war. The film emphasizes the art of disguise and the psychological toll of losing one's identity for the nation. With Ranveer Singh's character in Dhurandhar expected to adopt various guises to infiltrate the underworld, RAW offers a fascinating look at the lonely, shapeshifting life of a deep-cover asset.
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War (2019) Style, Swag, and Suspense
If you are looking for pure visual spectacle, War is the pinnacle. Starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, this film is less about gritty realism and more about high-octane chases, twists, and gloss. However, at its heart, it is still a story about rogue agents and protecting national secrets. For fans who hope Dhurandhar delivers massive action set-pieces and stylish combat sequences, War remains the high bar for Bollywood action.
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D-Day (2013) Infiltrating the Lions' Den
If Dhurandhar's plot about infiltrating the crime nexus in Pakistan sounds thrilling, D-Day is your must-watch classic. Nikhil Advani's underrated gem follows a team of RAW agents sent to Karachi to extract a Dawood Ibrahim-esque fugitive (played by Rishi Kapoor). The film is gritty, emotional, and raw, showcasing the personal costs of espionage. It captures the tension of operating in hostile territory perfectly, a theme that Ranveer Singh's character will likely navigate in his new film.
