'Dhurandhar' re-releases after muting words, minor changes

Ranveer Singh-starrer "Dhurandhar", one of Hindi cinema's highest earning movies with earnings of over Rs 700 crore in India, is now showing with a dialogue and some words being muted.

Aditya Dhar Films decided to make the changes on their own and there was no directive from the Information and Broadcasting ministry, officials said.

The filmmakers, they said, approached the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with the changes -- which include muting the dialogue with words 'Baloch' and 'intelligence' -- found to be offensive to certain communities.

The changes were made under Rule 31 of the Cinematograph Act, which allows producers to edit an already certified movie provided it does not change the larger meaning of the scene.

The film, which has earned over Rs 1,000 crore at the global box office, released on December 5 and has been creating waves -- and some controversy. Set in Pakistan's Lyari town, it centres on an Indian spy, played by Ranveer, who infiltrates a local gang of criminals and arms dealers.

On Friday, the spy action film was declared tax free in Ladakh.

Making the announcement, Lt Gov Kavinder Gupta's office said in an X post that it was shot extensively in the region. "The film spotlights Ladakh’s cinematic landscapes, signalling strong support for filmmakers and reinforcing the UT’s push to emerge as a preferred destination for film shoots and tourism," the X post said.

Directed by Aditya Dhar, it also features Arjun Rampal, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt and R Madhavan. The second part of the movie will release in March this year.