Ranveer Singh’s new film, Dhurandhar, was released in theaters on December 5. The film became one of the biggest openers of 2025 with the earning of 27 crores on day 1, smashing 12 records including Saiyaara. Only Chaava leads the race with Rs 32 crore run on opening day. The movie created different responses from the public. Critics were divided, the actors’ performances being one of the few aspects that got generally positive comments. On the other hand, the social media users were very vocal about their dissatisfaction. The argument went from the amount of money made by the movie to matters like bad reviews, paid trolling, and poor promotion. Many people posed the question as to why there were no press screenings before the movie’s release and why the marketing was so small. Some even pointed at the movie’s quality, saying it was probably “average” and thus the reason for the little promotion. However, the filmmakers said that press screenings were not arranged because of technical problems, not because they were afraid of the audience’s reaction.

What is the controversy of Dhurandhar and Mukesh Chhabra’s response?

On Friday, the film’s casting director, Mukesh Chhabra, expressed his displeasure over the negative reviews on Twitter. He wrote, “How amazingly it has turned out. I’ve been reading so many unnecessary negative reviews, and honestly, it’s very funny. I was there as one of the HODs of the film. They even had to cancel the cast and crew screening because of a technical glitch. Kya log hain… kisi ne film dekhi bhi nahi, but negativity ke liye ready hain. Haha.” Mukesh stated that many people are writing bad things without even seeing the film in theaters.

Mukesh Chhabra also expressed confidence in the film’s box office performance. In his post, Mukesh also wrote,”Phaad degi box office! Can’t wait for the magic.” He expressed confidence in the team and said that Dhurandar will perform well in theaters.

Check out the post here:

how amazingly it has turned out. I’ve been reading so many unnecessary negative reviews, and honestly, it’s very funny. I was there as one of the HODs of the film. They even had to cancel the cast and crew screening because of a technical glitch. Kya log hain… kisi ne film dekhi…

— Mukesh Chhabra CSA (@CastingChhabra) December 5, 2025

Yami Gautam’s post on Dhurandar promotion

On Thursday, a day before the film’s release, actress Yami Gautam shared a long note. Yami, who is the wife of director Aditya Dhar, questioned the marketing practices prevalent in the film industry. She explained how pressure is often exerted to pay money to generate positive hype for films. If the film team doesn’t pay, some people continue to write negative things even before the release.

In her note, Yami wrote,”There is something I have been wanting to express for a really long time. I feel today is that day, and I must. This so-called trend of giving money in the guise of marketing a film to ensure good ‘hype’ for that film, or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released) until you pay ‘them’ money, feels like nothing but extortion.” Her statement sparked a new debate on social media, with people questioning the industry’s paid promotion model.

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