Filmmaker Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge has remained a major talking point ever since its release on March 19. Within just a week, the film shattered box office records and continues to enjoy a dream run in theatres. However, a day before its release, the film suffered a setback when its paid reviews were reportedly cancelled due to “technical issues”. In a recent conversation with ABP Live, actor Danish Pandor recalled a “heartbreaking” moment when he saw only 40–50 people in the theatre on the film’s opening day amid what he described as “negative publicity”.
Danish Pandor on negative publicity around Dhurandhar The Revenge
Danish spoke about how the cancellation of the paid reviews affected him and said, “It’s all about the audience. I remember the film released on Friday after the screening got cancelled on Thursday. I was completely heartbroken. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I kept thinking, ‘It is such a great film, why is this happening?’ And on top of that, there was too much negative publicity around it.”
He added, “When the film finally released on Friday, I went for the 2:30 pm show. There were barely 40–50 people in the theatre. I kept wondering — we have made such a beautiful film, and there are no viewers. From 8 pm onwards, reviews started pouring in. Suddenly people began watching it and talking about it on social media. It picked up so well that there was no looking back. The reality is, no matter how much negativity surrounds a film, when audiences decide to show their love, nobody can stop them.”
In the film, Danish essays the role of Uzair Baloch, the cousin of Akshaye Khanna’s character, Rehman Dakait.
Despite the setbacks, the film still took a bumper opening at the box office. On its opening day, Dhurandhar: The Revenge collected ₹145 crore, including paid reviews, recording the biggest opening for a Bollywood film so far. It then went on to register two consecutive ₹100 crore days and ended its first week with a domestic collection of ₹643 crore and a worldwide total of over ₹1000 crore.
The success of Dhurandhar: The Revenge has set a new benchmark in the industry, making it one of the fastest films to enter the ₹1000 crore club. The film continues to perform strongly and is expected to surpass the lifetime collection of its first part, which earned ₹1300 crore worldwide.
About Dhurandhar: The Revenge
Helmed by Aditya Dhar, the film tells the origin story of Ranveer Singh’s character, Hamza Ali Mazari aka Jaskirat Singh Rangi, and takes forward his journey of rising to become the kingpin of Lyari while carrying out his mission to dismantle the terror network in Pakistan. The film also stars Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi, Sara Arjun, Sanjay Dutt and R Madhavan in key roles.
The film has also received praise from several celebrities, including SS Rajamouli, Ram Gopal Varma, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and Alia Bhatt.
