Dhurandhar’s marketing head Varun Gupta has opened up about why Ranveer Singh did not promote the film, saying the team made a conscious decision to let the film and its promotional assets speak instead of putting the actor through a traditional press tour.
Speaking on the Everyday Empires podcast, Gupta, founder of Max Marketing, said the campaign began unusually early. His team came on board before the star cast was finalised and heard the script at that stage.
The risk before release
Before the film opened, the strategy drew criticism. Articles questioned the promotions and said there was no buzz. Gupta said director Aditya Dhar did not panic. He would forward the critical articles and tell the team, “It’s all okay.”
“There were no questions asked,” Gupta said. “That kind of trust makes you want to do anything for them.”
Part of the plan was a 3.5-minute promotional asset released six months before the film’s arrival. Gupta said he could not recall another Hindi film doing that before Dhurandhar, calling it a Hollywood-style move in Hindi cinema.
Why Ranveer Singh stayed silent
The decision not to use Ranveer Singh for interviews and appearances was tied to his recent box-office run. Gupta contrasted it with Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, which followed Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. Ranveer had not had a similar run before Dhurandhar.
“There was a very conscious decision between us, the director, the producer and the actor,” Gupta said. “Let the film and its assets talk. Let the actors not talk.”
Gupta also pointed to alleged paid smear campaigns around big releases. He said makers are criticised either way: if a star promotes, people ask why such a big star needs to; if the star stays away, people say there is no buzz.
The numbers behind the gamble
- Dhurandhar (December 2025): over ₹1,300 crore worldwide.
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge (March 2026): over ₹1,800 crore worldwide.
- The sequel became the highest-grossing release of 2026 and the first Indian film to earn ₹1,000 crore at the domestic box office.
The sequel now sits behind Dangal among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
What it changes for Hindi film marketing
The Dhurandhar campaign is a useful reference for an industry that often equates buzz with star appearances. It suggests a long-lead asset and a trusted team can carry a film when an actor’s recent run makes a press tour feel risky. It is a balancing act, not a rule: audiences still want to see stars, but they respond when the material itself gives them something to talk about.
Max Marketing has previously worked on RRR, Animal, Kalki 2898 AD and Chandu Champion, and is associated with SS Rajamouli’s upcoming Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran. It will be worth watching whether the same asset-first playbook returns on that scale.
Source: Hindustan Times