The film Dhurandhar plunges into the brutal world of Lyari, Pakistan, a neighborhood known as the “Mother of Karachi” that became a blood-soaked battleground for notorious gangsters and legendary cops. The movie fictionalizes, but is deeply fueled by the real lives of men who ruled Lyari with fear.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Here are the true stories of the infamous figures who inspired the movie’s main characters:
1. Rehman Dakait: The Dark Emperor of Lyari
Rehman Dakait (born 1975) rose from committing his first stabbing at age 13 to becoming the undisputed emperor of Lyari’s underworld.
- Reign of Terror: His gang was involved in extortion, kidnapping, and drug smuggling. He didn’t just kill; he terrorized, allegedly ordering his men to play football with the severed heads of rivals.
- Political Links: His criminal empire flourished under the patronage of political parties, notably through the People’s Aman Committee.
- The End: In 2009, at age 34, his reign concluded in a hail of police bullets during a government crackdown.
2. Chaudhry Aslam: Pakistan’s Fearless Supercop
Embodied in the film by Sanjay Dutt, SSP Chaudhry Aslam was the legendary “encounter specialist” who challenged the gangsters’ supremacy.
- Career: Aslam led the CID and the Lyari Task Force, fearlessly pursuing both Lyari gangs and Taliban cells. He was known for charging directly into the fray, famously expecting his death rather than fearing it.
- Dakait’s Demise: He is widely believed to have been responsible for killing Rehman Dakait in a 2009 encounter, earning him immense awe and fear in Lyari.
- The Martyr: After surviving numerous attempts, his decorated career ended tragically on January 9, 2014, when a suicide bomber rammed into his convoy.
3. Uzair Baloch: The Brutal Successor
Uzair Baloch, Rehman Dakait’s cousin, inherited the gang leadership and cemented his brutal legend, inspiring the character played by Danish Pandor.
- Motivation: He entered the underworld seeking revenge after his father was kidnapped and murdered by rival Arshad Pappu in 2003.
- Ultimate Vengeance: In 2013, Baloch’s gang kidnapped and beheaded Arshad Pappu and his brother, parading and burning their bodies in a horrifying act he coldly defended as “karma.”
- Current Status: Baloch was arrested in Dubai in 2015 and later sentenced to twelve years by a military court, a crime lord now reduced to a prisoner in Central Jail Karachi.
4. Major Iqbal: The State Shadow
The character played by Arjun Rampal is Major Iqbal, a silent, controlled puppeteer.
- Real-Life Parallel: This figure is believed to be based on Ilyas Kashmiri, a Pakistani ex-Special Forces operative turned powerful militant leader. Kashmiri was reportedly an ISI handler linked to David Headley, a key plotter of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
5. Hamza Ali Mazari: The Fictional Blade
The film introduces an Indian spy, Hamza Ali Mazari (Ranveer Singh), a “Wrath of God” figure who infiltrates the Karachi chaos.
- Director’s Note: Director Aditya Dhar confirmed this character is fictional, a composite symbol of the brilliance and sacrifice of India’s undercover operatives.
The film Dhurandhar is a powerful, explosive collision of history, espionage, and imagination, reminding audiences that the monsters who once walked the streets of Lyari still cast long shadows today.
