Aarav is an ordinary man whose life is upended after he gets tangled in a road accident. A single wrong decision drags him into a spiral far darker than anything he had imagined. What follows is a suspense thriller that keeps twisting until a gut-punch of a climax.
Dhuandhaar arrived as one of the rare Gujarati thrillers of a pandemic-hit year, and it wears that ambition openly. The story follows Aarav, an ordinary man whose life tilts off its axis after a road accident and a single bad decision, pulling him into a spiral far darker than anything he imagined. Writer-director Rehan Chaudhary builds the film as a suspense piece rather than the romantic comedy the industry was leaning on at the time, and that swerve is most of its appeal.
Malhar Thakar, better known for lighter roles, carries the lead with visible effort, and Hiten Kumar lends the supporting weight the material needs. Reviewers noticed the gamble. Yesha Bhatt, writing for the Times of India, welcomed the break from formula and singled out the cinematography and a climax she described as a genuine gut-punch, while flagging that the screenplay and characters thin out and the pace sags after the interval. Mantavya News was warmer, handing it three out of five and praising the writing and the music by Kedar and Bhargav.
The gap between intent and execution is the film's real subject. The premise is strong and the last stretch pays off, but the middle loses grip and the writing does not always trust its own tension, which is why audience scores have stayed modest. Still, for a low-budget regional thriller made under difficult conditions, it takes a swing most of its peers avoided. Watch it if you want to see Gujarati cinema stretch past comfort into genre territory, and forgive the seams while it does. It is not a polished film, but it is a telling one, a marker of a small industry testing whether its audience would follow it somewhere darker than the wedding-comedy circuit it usually calls home.
Verdict
A brave swing at homegrown suspense that lands its climax but fumbles the middle. Worth it for the ambition more than the polish.
What works
- Rare Gujarati genre thriller
- A climax that lands
- Malhar Thakar cast against type
- Strong cinematography
What holds it back
- Pace sags after the interval
- Thin characterisation
- Screenplay loses its grip
- Premise outshines execution
Cast & crew
Writers: Rehan Chaudhary
Music: Kedar & Bhargav
Cast: Malhar Thakar (Aarav), Netri Trivedi, Alisha Prajapati, Dimple Biscuitwala, Hiten Kumar
Producers: Jeegar Chauhan, Rajesh Thakkar
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore from Rehan Chaudhary
More Thriller Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Dhuandhaar worth watching?
A brave swing at homegrown suspense that lands its climax but fumbles the middle. Worth it for the ambition more than the polish. Kevu Che rates it 2.5 out of 5.
What is Dhuandhaar about?
Aarav is an ordinary man whose life is upended after he gets tangled in a road accident. A single wrong decision drags him into a spiral far darker than anything he had imagined. What follows is a suspense thriller that keeps twisting until a gut-punch of a climax.
What is the IMDb rating of Dhuandhaar?
Dhuandhaar (2021) holds an IMDb rating of 4.7 out of 10.