Akshaye Khanna's performance as Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar garners praise for THIS reason

Famous for his rare versatility and his relentless pursuit of excellence, Akshaye slips into the skin of Rehman Dakait with a menace that feels alarmingly organic.

Dhurandhar has finally hit theatres, and right from the opening stretch, Akshaye Khanna commands attention as Rehman Balouch.

His presence settles over the film like a quiet storm, instantly signalling that this is a performance shaped by precision, maturity, and the kind of instinct only he possesses.

Famous for his rare versatility and his relentless pursuit of excellence, Akshaye slips into the skin of Rehman Dakait with a menace that feels alarmingly organic. There isn’t a single false note—nothing appears exaggerated or theatrically constructed. His astonishing control over the character doesn’t just serve him well; it elevates the entire film, grounding this spy-action narrative with an unexpected and compelling emotional weight.

As the story unfolds, Rehman’s arc grows richer, and Akshaye never breaks the illusion—never once does he seem miscast or misaligned with the world of the film. This seamless absorption into character is the ultimate display of his calibre: he disappears into Rehman so completely that the performer becomes invisible, leaving only the man he’s portraying.

The chilling stillness in his eyes, the way he uses timing and pauses like weapons, and his capacity to communicate layers of intent through minimal movement turn Rehman Dakait into a force of nature. The kind of villain whose mind is as lethal as any weapon—and you instinctively trust Khanna to deliver a portrayal this unconventional and razor sharp.

Watching him planted at the epicentre of this tense, high-stakes battlefield carries an oddly poetic resonance—especially for a genre like this. Having traversed multiple intense cinematic eras, Akshaye pulls from that reservoir of experience to craft a Rehman who is raw, honest, and impossibly real.

With a screen presence that is both untamed and arrestingly beautiful, Khanna maintains a gripping tension that lingers until the final frame. His performance becomes one of the film’s biggest strengths—an unshakeable anchor that lets audiences fully absorb the brutality and brilliance of Rehman Dakait.

Dhurandhar, presented by Jio Studios and produced under the B62 Studios banner, is written, directed, and produced by Aditya Dhar, with additional production by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar.

It features a powerhouse ensemble including Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and debutante Sara Arjun.