Dhurandhar shows Bollywood has a new box office mix—controversy, nationalism & spectacle |
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Dhurandhar shows Bollywood has a new box office mix—controversy, nationalism & spectacle
With the films, Aditya Dhar achieved something Bollywood has been trying to engineer for years—an event blockbuster that dominates both box office and national conversation.
The hype around Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar began in November last year when the first part of the spy thriller hit theatres. Four months later, that build-up culminated this week with the release of Dhurandhar: The Revenge—a blockbuster sequel that has filled theatres, split critics, and ignited debates about contemporary politics seeping into mainstream cinema.
Within a day of paid previews, Dhurandhar 2 reportedly crossed the Rs 100-crore mark, turning the Ranveer Singh starrer into a box-office juggernaut and a cultural flashpoint that audiences are cheering, arguing over and dissecting in equal measure.
Dhurandhar’s larger-than-life characters, elaborate world-building, an A-list casting coup, and just enough gap between the two films kept audiences hooked. The social media buzz that began last November never really faded.
The film’s sustained marketing blitz, the political debates it has triggered, and the sharply divided reactions to its politics have pushed the film into the national conversation—a rarity for a Bollywood film. This is why Dhurandhar is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of the Week.
Beefed-up nationalism
If the first part of Dhurandhar was entertaining and relatively restrained, Dhurandhar: The Revenge is longer, louder and unapologetically........