Hindi Blockbuster, Telugu Mess: Dhurandhar 2 Lost Potential

Dhurandhar: The Revenge has opened to a massive response across India, as expected. The Ranveer Singh starrer witnessed strong momentum from its paid premieres, with collections trending towards a huge opening. In the Hindi market especially, the film is enjoying blockbuster-level buzz and footfalls. The film is trending on BookMyShow with 109K tickets sold per hour, breaking Pushpa 2’s record of 108K.

However, the situation in the Telugu states has turned into a major disappointment, particularly for non-Hindi audiences. The planned paid premieres for the Telugu version were cancelled at the last minute, leaving many fans frustrated. Viewers who had booked tickets to watch the film in their preferred language were left without clear communication from the makers.

The lack of official updates has added to the confusion. The Telugu dubbed version was expected to be available from the premiere shows, but that did not happen. Even on release day, there was no clarity on when it would screen. In several centres, theatres are instead opting to run the Hindi version from evening shows, which has not gone down well with audiences waiting for a proper dubbed experience.

This has created uncertainty at theatres, with some bookings opening online despite doubts over whether shows will run as planned. As a result, many moviegoers are hesitant.

Interestingly, the Hindi version is performing strongly even in the Telugu states, showing good occupancy. This makes the delay of the Telugu version even more disappointing, as there was clear demand for it.

Industry sources suggest the delay may be due to last-minute post-production work, with director Aditya Dhar reportedly finalizing the edit until the early hours of the premiere day.

Overall, what should have been a smooth multi-language release has been affected by poor coordination. The full-fledged Telugu and Tamil release may now happen from Friday morning.