Analysis | DHURANDHAR & the Art of Narrative Power: Where Cinema Ends, Intelligence Begins, and Cultural Diplomacy Takes Shape
- Dec 29, 2025
- 3 min read
by Omkar NIKAM
Recently, I recorded a deeply personal and revealing podcast with Colonel (Veteran) Bhupinder Shahi, a retired Indian Army officer and the military consultant behind the latest Indian espionage film DHURANDHAR.
Watch the full episode on the below from Access Hub’s YouTube channel:
This article is a direct reflection of that conversation, expanded beyond the microphone to examine what the film represents not only for national security discourse but for India’s cultural diplomacy on the global stage.
Some films entertain. Others reshape how a nation is seen.
Beyond Cinema: Film as Cultural Diplomacy
In today’s geopolitically fragmented world, cultural diplomacy often moves faster and deeper than official statements or white papers. Films, especially those grounded in realism, have become one of the most powerful instruments through which nations communicate values, history, trauma, and intent to global audiences.
DHURANDHAR operates squarely in this space.
Rather than projecting India through stereotypes or soft power tropes, the film presents a country grappling with complex security realities, moral ambiguity, and institutional discipline. This matters internationally. For non-Indian audiences, cinema is often the first and most enduring lens through which they form perceptions of a nation’s strategic culture.
By choosing realism over exaggeration, DHURANDHAR quietly reframes India, not as a caricature of chaos or spectacle, but as a state shaped by restraint, sacrifice, and long-term strategic thinking.
Rewriting the Narrative of National Security
Historically, global espionage cinema has been dominated by Western narratives, hero-centric, technologically omnipotent, and often detached from civilian consequence. Indian intelligence, when depicted at all, was either marginal or mythologized.
This film disrupts that imbalance.
Through grounded storytelling and institutional accuracy, it communicates something more powerful than spectacle: credibility. The portrayal of intelligence professionals as restrained, emotionally burdened, and often invisible actors aligns far more closely with how modern security institutions actually function.
That alignment matters in diplomacy. It signals to global audiences, policymakers, analysts, and civilians alike that India’s security posture is not impulsive or theatrical but measured and deeply human.
26/11 and the Ethics of Memory
Few moments define modern India’s global image like the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Internationally, those events shaped perceptions of India as a victim of transnational terrorism. Domestically, they remain an open wound.
The way DHURANDHAR handles this moment is itself an act of cultural diplomacy.
Rather than dramatizing revenge or heroism, the film depicts helpless observation, the intelligence professional forced to watch violence unfold in real time, constrained by larger operational realities. This portrayal communicates restraint, ethical tension, and emotional cost without explanation or justification.
For global audiences, that restraint challenges simplistic narratives of nationalism. It shows a society that remembers trauma without exploiting it, an essential distinction in how nations are morally evaluated abroad.
Cinema as a Bridge Between Institutions and Society
One of the most important insights from the podcast conversation was how closely filmmakers now work with defense institutions to ensure authenticity. This collaboration does more than improve realism; it builds institutional trust through culture.
When films responsibly depict national security ecosystems, they help demystify institutions without exposing them. This transparency, carefully calibrated, strengthens democratic understanding at home while enhancing legitimacy abroad.
In cultural diplomacy terms, this is critical. Trust is not built through slogans, but through stories that feel credible, restrained, and internally consistent.
Global Reach, Subtle Influence
Indian cinema today travels far beyond South Asia, into global multiplexes, streaming platforms, academic discussions, and policy circles. Films like DHURANDHAR are no longer just domestic products; they are strategic cultural exports.
They shape how foreign audiences perceive:
India’s threat environment
Its intelligence culture
Its civil-military balance
Its ethical boundaries are in conflict
This is cultural diplomacy at work, not loud, not declared, but deeply influential.
Access Hub’s Perspective
The podcast episode and this article sit at the intersection of defense analysis, media, and global perception. At Access Hub, the goal is not to amplify narratives but to examine how narratives shape power.
DHURANDHAR is significant not simply because it is a successful film, but because it reflects a maturing national conversation, one that understands cinema as a tool of memory, credibility, and international dialogue.
In an era where perception often precedes policy, such stories matter.
Because not all films are entertainment. Some are instruments of national understanding. And a few quietly become diplomats.
Watch the full conversation with Colonel Bhupinder Shahi on our YouTube channel:
About Author
Omkar NIKAM, Founder & CEO, Access Hub
Omkar is a consultant, analyst, and entrepreneur with over a decade of experience advising governments, space firms, defense agencies, aerospace, maritime, and media technology companies worldwide. At Access Hub, he shapes the vision, strategy, and global partnerships, positioning the platform at the crossroads of innovation and business growth.
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