Pakistan bans Dhurandhar, Bilawal Bhutto walks in to its hit song FA9LA | WATCH

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - File Photo

Despite being officially banned, Indian espionage thriller Dhurandhar appears to be enjoying a far warmer reception in Pakistan than Islamabad would like to admit. While Pakistani politicians and courts remain busy attacking the film for its alleged “anti-Pakistan” stance, the ground reality tells a very different story.

The film’s viral track FA9LA has quietly turned into a party favourite across Pakistan. In a twist that has not gone unnoticed, a recent video showed the song playing at a public event attended by Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto himself.

The clip, which has since gone viral, shows Bhutto being welcomed onto the stage and settling into his seat as FA9LA plays loudly in the background. This, notably, is the same film that Bhutto’s own party has dragged to court in Karachi.

Pakistanis playing Dhurandar music in its parties Here, Bilawal Bhutto is seen in party with Dhurandar tune in background 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/6CHIPMyXUs

— Frontalforce 🇮🇳 (@FrontalForce) December 17, 2025

The song is linked to one of Dhurandhar’s most discussed characters, Rehman Dakait, an infamous Lyari don played by Akshaye Khanna. Ironically, the PPP has filed a legal petition against the film, objecting to the use of images of the late Benazir Bhutto and seeking an FIR against the cast and crew.

Ban on paper, blockbuster on phones

Pakistan, along with some Gulf nations, has banned the screening of Dhurandhar, calling it “negative propaganda.” But beyond official press releases and court filings, the ban appears to exist largely on paper.

The film, which covers the 1999 Kandahar hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the Lyari gang wars, has struck a nerve with the Pakistani establishment. Every attempt has been made to block it, yet Pakistan’s powerful spy agency ISI seems to have little control over the digital space.

In just two weeks, more than two million illegal downloads of Dhurandhar have been reported in Pakistan. The film has now become the most pirated movie in the country, surpassing even big-ticket releases like 2.0 and Raees.

While the ban may have cost the makers an estimated Rs 50 to 60 crore in lost box office revenue, the narrative the film pushes has travelled freely across Pakistan. The discomfort is especially visible over the portrayal of Lyari, a subject Islamabad would clearly prefer to keep off-screen.

So rattled is the establishment that plans are reportedly underway to fast-track a counter film portraying Lyari in a positive light, a move that only reinforces how deeply Dhurandhar has landed its punch.

Led by Ranveer Singh as Indian spy Hamza, who infiltrates Pakistan’s Lyari to dismantle terror networks backed by the ISI, Dhurandhar also stars Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal and Rakesh Bedi.