Widow of Karachi cop warns of legal action over portrayal in Dhurandhar

Chaudhary Aslam’s widow has objected to the slain Karachi police officer’s portrayal in the upcoming Bollywood film Dhurandhar. She criticised a dialogue in the trailer and warned of legal action if the film misrepresents her husband or maligns Pakistan

Karachi: The widow of Chaudhary Aslam, a Pakistani police officer who became famous as an encounter specialist and for his bravery against terror and criminal gangs in Karachi, has threatened to take legal action if her husband is falsely and negatively portrayed in the upcoming Bollywood film Dhurandhar.

Headlined by Ranveer Singh and directed by Aditya Dhar, the movie is a high-stakes espionage thriller. The film’s official trailer, which was released earlier this month, offers a glimpse into a story set in Karachi’s notorious Lyari neighbourhood, once dominated by two rival criminal gangs.

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In the movie, veteran star Sanjay Dutt portrays Chaudhary Aslam. The police officer was assassinated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban’s Mohmand chapter, who claimed responsibility for carrying out a bomb attack on his car on the Lyari Expressway on January 9, 2014, in which two other police officers, his driver, and guard were also killed.

Aslam was well-known for leading law enforcement agencies’ crackdown on Lyari gangsters, including Rehman Dakait and Uzair Baloch, as well as Taliban terrorists. He had earlier survived a bomb attack at his residence in 2011, in which eight people were killed.

In an interview with the Geo Digital platform, Aslam’s wife, Naureen Aslam, said she is waiting for the film to come out in Indian theatres on December 5, as only then will she know how the filmmakers have portrayed her husband.

She also took offence to a dialogue in the trailer where Aslam is described as the child of the “devil and a jinn”. “We are Muslims, and such words are disrespectful not only to Aslam but his mother as well, who was a simple, honest woman,” Naureen Aslam said.

“If I see my husband being portrayed wrongly or any propaganda against him in the film, I will definitely take all legal steps I can,” she added. Naureen Aslam said it is strange that Indian filmmakers find no other subjects but to malign Pakistan.

“My husband was a brave police officer, and his name was feared by criminals and terrorists… I am surprised that they have portrayed Rehman Dakait as a big terrorist, although I know from my husband that he was a extortionist, kidnapper, and a criminal,” she said.

Actor Akshaye Khanna plays the role of Dakait in the movie, while actor R Madhavan essays Indian spy master Ajay Sanyal, and Arjun Rampal as Major Iqbal from ISI. The details of Singh’s character have not been revealed, but he seems to be playing an Indian agent who infiltrates the gangs of Lyari.

“Dhurandhar” is produced by Dhar and his brother Lokesh Dhar through their banner B62 Studios alongside Jyoti Deshpande of Jio Studios.