4 min readFeb 25, 2026 04:12 PM IST
Dhurandhar can very well be critiqued for its politics and intent. Yet, if there is one thing the film has undeniably attempted, it is to reimagine the spy action genre, flipping it from the bottom up. For decades, audiences have watched variations of the same India–Pakistan conflict narrative play out on screen. The familiar template has been revisited countless times. But there is something about Aditya Dhar’s filmmaking that has struck a chord, and struck it hard. So much so that anticipation is already sky-high for a sequel. In fact, Dhurandhar 2 seems to require little promotional push; audiences are eager to experience it in theatres. R Madhavan recently echoed a similar sentiment in an interview with Sonia Shenoy on her YouTube channel.
“Traditionally, we’ve been making movies around the India–Pakistan war or our freedom struggle. That has been our action space and our core go-to in terms of storytelling. But the younger generation doesn’t even want that anymore. They’re like samajh gaya main, kitni baar bologe? (I’ve understood it, how many times will you say it?) And I think after Dhurandhar, that whole India–Pakistan thing is going to go. That’s the full stop now.”
In the same conversation, he also spoke about the extraordinary craze surrounding the film in the UAE, where it was banned. According to Madhavan, some fans flew to India just to watch it. “If you look at Dhurandhar, people from Dubai actually flew down, for one day, to watch the film and then flew back. That is the power of good content.” He further revealed that a similar trend is expected for the sequel, which is slated for release on March 19.
“Now they’re planning their business meetings around March 19 when Dhurandhar 2 is releasing, they’ll go there for meetings, watch the film, and then return, as it’s banned in the UAE. For them, it would be so easy to just watch it on IPTV, okay? And I’m sure they could. But they want to experience watching a film like Dhurandhar in a theatre full of people. That gives you a community experience. Cinema allows that. Watching the same film alone at home feels completely different. It’s like performing dandiya in front of the TV. Dandiya is something you go out and play on the ground, with people around you.”
In an earlier conversation with CNN-News18, the film’s overseas distributor Pranab Kapadia had revealed how Dhurandhar suffered because of the ban in the region, “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 a release. 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.”
Despite the ban in the Gulf and Pakistan, Dhurandhar earned over Rs 1300 crore worldwide with about Rs 890 crore from India net. Dhurandhar 2 is set to clash with Toxic, starring Yash, over the Eid weekend, setting the stage for a high-voltage box office battle.
