Understanding Major Iqbal: Why Dhurandhar's chilling villain loses edge by climax

Arjun Rampal's Major Iqbal is equal parts menacing and vulnerable. Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar: The Revenge gives him the kind of arc that breaks the usual Bollywood template of a villain, and yet just when it reaches a high, the film does something unthinkable.

The first image Dhurandhar gives you of Major Iqbal is not a grand entrance. It is a man making precise incisions into someone's skin while calmly explaining his ideology. The opening of the Part 1 trailer belongs entirely to him - a childhood memory of a radio broadcast, Zia-ul-Haq's words, and a promise to "bleed India with a thousand cuts." It is one of the most chilling villain introductions in recent Hindi cinema, controlled, ideological, and deeply unsettling.

In fact, it is the audience's very first glimpse into the world of Dhurandhar. Bollywood has often given us villains who are violent, gruesome, and driven purely by rage, but Major Iqbal is not just another angry antagonist. He carries layers, ideology, and internal conflict - much like the world of Dhurandhar itself.

The first instalment largely lives up to that introduction. Even though he is not positioned as the central antagonist, Major Iqbal operates with authority. By the time Part 2 arrives, the expectation is clear: this is the man Hamza is ultimately moving towards, the force that needs to be brought down.

And on paper, the character absolutely supports that expectation.

Spoilert alert: Not your regular villain