Aditya Dhar’s high-octane spy thriller Dhurandhar: The Revenge, starring Ranveer Singh, continues its box-office rampage, crossing the $100-million global mark in just six days. The sequel to the 2025 hit has collected around ₹575 crore net in India and over $27 million overseas — including a strong $15 million in North America — despite skipping the Gulf market. It currently ranks as the second-highest grosser in its US opening weekend behind Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary.
However, the film’s massive commercial success stands in stark contrast to its reception among international critics. With a low 38% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (mostly positive reviews from Indian outlets), foreign press has slammed the movie for excessive violence, repetitive storytelling, and what many describe as fanatical jingoism and propaganda.
Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times noted that the sequel “further desensitizes viewers to violence along national or religious lines.” Sarah Manvel called the extreme brutality “sociopathic” and questioned why audiences enjoy watching “people we’re supposed to hate suffering six different ways before they die.” Carla Hay of Culture Mix labelled it “an empty excuse to show a fictional and fanatically jingoistic and sadistically violent version of real-life historical events,” criticising its “hateful rhetoric about certain ethnicities.”
Back home, reactions are divided. While many celebrities and audiences cheer the patriotic spectacle, Kannada actor Ramya called it “complete propaganda” and urged Dhar to “move beyond jingoism.” Political commentator Dhruv Rathee dubbed it “brain rot” and “not even well-made propaganda.” In contrast, Anupam Kher defended the film, saying he pities those labelling it jingoistic.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge (released March 19, runtime ~3 hours) features Ranveer Singh alongside R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, and Sara Arjun.