R Madhavan says people flew from Dubai to India just to watch 'Dhurandhar' after the film was banned there, opens up on the hype around the sequel

'Dhurandhar' has been one of the most talked about movies of last year and fans are now waiting for the second part of the movie. 'Dhurandhar 2 appears to need little in the way of aggressive marketing; viewers are more than ready to return to theatres. R Madhavan recently shared similar thoughts during a recent interview. The actor spoke about the hype around the film and its ban in UAE.

He said in an interview with Sonia Shenoy on her YouTube channel, “Traditionally, we’ve been making movies around the India–Pakistan war or our freedom struggle. That has been our action space and our core go-to in terms of storytelling. But the younger generation doesn’t even want that anymore. They’re like samajh gaya main, kitni baar bologe? (I’ve understood it, how many times will you say it?) And I think after Dhurandhar, that whole India–Pakistan thing is going to go. That’s the full stop now.”




Madhavan also highlighted the remarkable enthusiasm the film generated in the UAE, where it faced a ban. He revealed that some fans went to extraordinary lengths to catch it on the big screen. “If you look at Dhurandhar, people from Dubai actually flew down, for one day, to watch the film and then flew back. That is the power of good content.”

According to him, a similar wave of travel is expected around March 19, when the sequel hits theatres. “Now they’re planning their business meetings around March 19 when Dhurandhar 2 is releasing, they’ll go there for meetings, watch the film, and then return, as it’s banned in the UAE. For them, it would be so easy to just watch it on IPTV, okay? And I’m sure they could. But they want to experience watching a film like Dhurandhar in a theatre full of people. That gives you a community experience. Cinema allows that. Watching the same film alone at home feels completely different. It’s like performing dandiya in front of the TV. Dandiya is something you go out and play on the ground, with people around you.”

Earlier, speaking to CNN-News18, the film’s overseas distributor Pranab Kapadia acknowledged the financial setback caused by the Gulf ban. “I think this is at least a ten million dollar box office that we have lost, because traditionally action films have always performed very well in the Middle East. And therefore we feel that it should have gotten a a release. We are not the first film where they have not given a release. Fighter also was not released before this, and several others. So we of course made a full attempt at ensuring that we put our best foot forward for the release. But I think ultimately, the film has found its audience, if not in the Gulf, then elsewhere.”

Despite being barred in parts of the Gulf and Pakistan, Dhurandhar still emerged as a juggernaut, collecting over Rs 1300 crore globally, including approximately Rs 890 crore net in India alone. The sequel is now gearing up for a major box office face-off with Toxic, headlined by Yash, during the Eid weekend — promising one of the year’s most anticipated cinematic clashes.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”