Imtiaz Ali Says Dhurandhar Proved Critics Wrong After Crossing Three Thousand Crore Rupees

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali praised the blockbuster film Dhurandhar at the twenty fourth Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, noting that many people in Bollywood initially called it an impractical project with a low chance of success. Speaking with Sonal Kalra, the Chief Managing Editor of Entertainment and Lifestyle at Hindustan Times, Ali discussed the current phase of introspection in the Hindi film industry where traditional rules about star power and audience attention spans are being challenged.

Box Office Records

Directed by Aditya Dhar, the two Dhurandhar movies have crossed a total of three thousand crore rupees at the global box office. The first film, which released in December and starred Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy, earned eight hundred forty one crore rupees net in India and thirteen hundred eight crore rupees worldwide during a fourteen week run. The sequel, Dhurandhar The Revenge, arrived in March and became the first Hindi film to earn one hundred crore rupees net in a single day, achieving this milestone three times in its opening weekend. By April sixteenth, the second film earned over ten0 twenty five crore rupees net in India and pushed the combined franchise total past three thousand crore rupees.

Cast And Crew

Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, the spy thriller series features Ranveer Singh infiltrating terror networks in Pakistan alongside an ensemble cast that includes R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun. While the first part earned critical acclaim, the second part received more mixed reviews, yet both films stand as the highest-grossing Hindi movies in the country.

Context

Major commercial success stories often reshape how film studios greenlight new projects by proving that unconventional scripts and long runtimes can still attract massive audiences. Industry events like leadership summits serve as a platform for prominent filmmakers to share their insights on shifting box office trends and creative risks.