At HTLS, Imtiaz Ali hails Dhurandhar, says many in Bollywood called it an impractical film, least likely to succeed
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
Writer-director Imtiaz Ali was one the speakers on the 24th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026, where he spoke at length about the changing landscape of the Hindi movie industry. The filmmaker, whose last rollout Main Vaapas Aaunga went on to become a surprise hit at the ticket-window, picked the example of Dhurandhar and lauded the movie's daring to break many rules.
Adding to this, Imtiaz Ali spoke about Dhurandhar at the Hindustan Times Leader Summit. What Imtiaz shared During his conversation with Sonal Kalra, Chief Managing Editor, Entertainment and Lifestyle, Hindustan Times at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Imtiaz shared, “I feel something very interesting is happening in the movie industry. We are in that delicious phase where people are saying that nothing is working. Should we go with the big star, non-star… what is going to work? People are saying that attention span is missing in the audience but the films which are doing well are three hours long. nothing long is working. People are citing Dhurandhar as an example of what is successful but look at the length of that movie!”
Meanwhile, He added, “Forgetting the fact that when Dhurandhar was actually conceived and it was doing its run around those studios, people thought that this is the most impractical, a movie with the least likelihood of success! But it broke all the rules and after that everybody wants to make that. All of us are thinking what will work. The language might change but I feel its a phase of introspection that the movie industry is going through.”
Notably, Aditya Dhar's two Dhurandhar films have grossed over ₹ 3000 crore rupees at the ticket-window. Rolled out in December, the first Dhurandhar movie, starring Ranveer Singh , was a critical and commercial success. It collected a then-record ₹ 841 crore rupees net in India, and courtesy of a $33 million overseas haul, crossed ₹ 1300 crore rupees gross worldwide. After a rather long run in theatres that lasted over 14 weeks, Dhurandhar ended its run at ₹ 1308 crore rupees.
As per the latest buzz, The sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, arrived in March and shattered every Bollywood box-office record. The movie became the first from Hindi cinema to net ₹ 100 crore rupees in a single day, a feat it achieved three times during its opening weekend. It sailed past ₹ 1000 crore rupees in a week and soon surpassed its predecessor. As of April 16, Dhurandhar 2 has collected just over ₹ 1025 crore rupees net in India and ₹ 1720 crore rupees worldwide. The makers claim the worldwide gross exceeds ₹ 1760 crore rupees. Either way, the Dhurandhar franchise has crossed ₹ 3000 crore rupees worldwide, with the upper estimate at ₹ 3110 crore rupees for the two films.
In further updates, Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar is a spy thriller starring Ranveer Singh as an Indian spy infiltrating the gangs and terror networks of Pakistan. The films also star R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun. The first part was critically acclaimed, while the second received more lukewarm reviews. However, both are the two highest-grossing Hindi films in India.
On top of that, Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and movie festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several movie festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent movie/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’. A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified movie critic. When not watching films or in conversation with celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own. Santanu continues to write passionately about films and star culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience. Find him on LinkedIn: santanudasfilm Instagram: @santupecha Read More
Source: Hindustan Times