There is a particular kind of electricity that only a packed cinema hall in India can generate - the whistles that greet a hero's slow-motion entry, the applause that rolls like thunder followed by the collective hush before a twist lands.
For a while, that electricity seemed to be fading. Streaming thinned crowds and big budget films faltered. Even big releases opened to less than passionate responses.
And then, in December, came Dhurandhar.
By the end of 2025, the spy thriller hadn't just topped the box office - it had blown it open, grossing about $155m (£116.34m) worldwide and ranking among Hindi-language cinema's biggest hits.
The surge spilled into theatres: in February, India's largest multiplex operator PVR Inox reported footfalls rose nearly 9% year-on-year in the quarter to December, powered by Dhurandhar, whose record run helped lift the chain's overall box-office collections 13% last year.
That mood has only intensified with the release of its sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which opened last week to blistering demand.
More than 1.5 million tickets were snapped up in advance across five languages - early proof of a frenzy few films command. At nearly four hours, the sequel is bigger, louder and more indulgent than the original. Audiences are crowding the theatres. Cineplexes across India are packing in up to three dozen near round-the-clock shows daily, running from early mornings to late nights.
The sequel is creating history. It is shattering all previous records and redefining the box office. A true game changer, says Taran Adarsh, a film trade analyst.
The original three-hour-34-minute Dhurandhar delivered a high-octane mix of espionage, gang wars and patriotic fervour. Anchored by actor Ranveer Singh's swaggering spy on a perilous Karachi mission, director Aditya Dhar's film paired slick action with India-Pakistan tensions - earning praise for its pace while fuelling a debate over its politics.
Dhurandhar: The Revenge picks up from that cliffhanger, deepening a long-running Indian intelligence operation inside Karachi's criminal and political underworld.
Shot back-to-back with the first film and released just three months later, the near four-hour-long sequel sees Singh joined by R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt and Sara Arjun.
A slickly engineered spectacle, the sequel - much like the first film - marries propulsive action and raw violence with a thundering, mood-shifting score. It draws admiration for the scale, craft and ambition, even as the film's politics and ideological tone unsettle some viewers.
Initial audience responses have been overwhelmingly positive, with cinema-goers dubbing the film paisa vasool (you got your money's worth), indicating satisfaction with the lengthy viewing experience. However, critics offer a more nuanced take, acknowledging technical craftsmanship while questioning thematic intent, with some calling the film a potential vehicle for nationalist propaganda.
As the film continues to dominate discussions across platforms, it appears the cinematic experience is firmly resurging, signaling a potential revival for Bollywood's grand spectacles.
