4 min readMumbaiFeb 13, 2026 11:47 AM IST
Aditya Dhar clearly struck gold with the gangster actioner Dhurandhar, which not only created a storm at the box office domestically but is also trending globally. Since its release on Netflix, the film has been enjoying repeated viewings, and social media is flooded with fan-made edits and tributes. Starring Ranveer Singh in the lead role, Dhurandhar was officially banned in Pakistan. Yet, thanks to piracy, it has found its way there illegally. Recently, Karl Rock, a New Zealand-based YouTuber and blogger known for his travel vlogs across the Indian subcontinent and his book How to Travel in India, shared a new vlog exploring underground piracy hubs in Pakistan. In it, he discovered that Dhurandhar was being sold at remarkably low prices.
In a roughly 30-minute vlog, Karl visited Karachi’s Rainbow Centre in Saddar Bazaar, a market that isn’t just known for gaming but also as a backbone of Pakistan’s black-market entertainment economy. While speaking to various vendors, Karl came across a shop where a Dhurandhar poster was displayed on a desktop. He asked the shopkeeper, “This is a new film from India, right?” The shopkeeper confirmed, “Yes, this is a new movie from India, Dhurandhar.” When Karl pointed to Ranveer Singh on the poster and asked if it was him, the shopkeeper nodded in agreement.
Turning to his audience, Karl added, “And I can tell you one or two things about Ranveer Singh. He is a Sindhi. His parents, or rather his grandparents, are from this city, I think, and they came over to India during the Partition. Yes, very famous Sindhi guy from India.” When Karl asked the price, the shopkeeper said, “It’s for Rs 50.” Surprised, Karl replied, “That’s it? Very cheap.” The shopkeeper explained that the film costs Rs 50 on a USB, but if you want it on DVD, it would be around Rs 300.
A YouTuber from NZ Karl Rock discovers pirated copies of Dhurandhar movie being sold openly in Pakistan for PKR 50
byu/mahaavtar inBollyBlindsNGossip
Earlier, when Dhurandhar released in December last year, it was banned in parts of the Middle East. Reports from IANS indicated that the film had been illegally downloaded at least 2 million times in Pakistan within just two weeks, making it the most pirated movie in the country, surpassing even Rajinikanth’s 2.0 and Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees. The film’s overseas distributor, also Pranab Kapadia, spoke about the commercial impact of the ban to CNN News 18:
“I think this is at least a ten million dollar box office that we have lost, because traditionally action films have always performed very well in the Middle East. And therefore we feel that it should have gotten a release. But, at the same time, we have to respect the views and the rules and regulations of every territory and every country, and they have their reasons. We are not the first film where they have not given a release. Fighter also was not released before this, and several others. So we of course made a full attempt at ensuring that we put our best foot forward for the release. But I think ultimately, the film has found its audience, if not in the Gulf, then elsewhere.”
