Pakistan to release film next month to counter ‘negative propaganda’ by Indian flick Dhurandhar

The collage created shows covers of Pakistani movie 'Mera Lyari.' (Sharjeel Inam Memon)
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  • Dhurandhar, an Indian spy thriller released earlier this month, is set in Karachi’s impoverished Lyari neighborhood
  • “Mera Layari” will showcase the true face of Lyari, one of peace and prosperity, says Sindh information minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will release a movie next month titled “Mera Layari” to counter the “negative propaganda” of a Karachi neighborhood by India’s latest flick “Dhurandhar,” Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Sunday. 

Dhurandhar features leading Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as the male lead who portrays Hamza, an Indian spy on a perilous mission in Pakistan’s Karachi city. The film traces his battles against criminal networks and shadowy operatives in the context of the India-Pakistan tensions. 

Most of the movie features portrayals of Karachi’s rough Lyari neighborhood, recognized as one of its most impoverished ones. Lyari has witnessed gang wars where criminal networks operated with impunity for several years.

“Indian movie Dhurandhar is yet another example of negative propaganda by the Indian film industry against Pakistan, especially targeting Lyari,” Memon wrote on social media platform X. 

“Lyari is not violence— it is culture, peace, talent, and resilience. Next month Mera Lyari will release, showing the true face of Lyari: peace, prosperity, and pride.”

Mera Layari will feature actors Dananeer Mubeen, Samiya Mumtaz, Ayesha Omar and Adnan Shah Tipu in prominent roles, as per the flick’s poster. 

Omar is also the film’s executive producer while it has been directed by filmmaker Abu Aleeha. 

Earlier this week, a constitutional petition against Dhurandhar was also filed in a Karachi district and sessions court. 

The petitioner, a supporter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) which is in power in Sindh, filed the petition for unauthorized use of late Benazir Bhutto, former PPP chairperson and Pakistani ex-prime minister., PPP flag and party rally footage.