‘Dhurandhar’ marketing head explains why Ranveer Singh didn’t promote the film: ‘Ranbir Kapoor had ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar before Animal released’ |

Aditya Dhar and Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’ went on to become a box-office juggernaut, setting new records and turning the two-part franchise into one of the biggest successes in Indian cinema. However, the film’s promotional strategy came under scrutiny before its release, with some viewers questioning the lack of buzz around the project. Varun Gupta, founder of Max Marketing, the agency behind the campaigns for ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, opened up about the decision to keep Ranveer away from promotional appearances and recalled how director Aditya Dhar responded to the criticism.Varun revealed that he could not recall a Hindi film releasing a promotional asset lasting 3.5 minutes as early as six months before its theatrical release, as ‘Dhurandhar’ did. While such long-format promotional material was not unusual in Hollywood, he said, it was a relatively unexplored approach in Hindi cinema. He also disclosed that his team had joined the project before the star cast was finalised and had heard the script at that early stage.Despite the film’s eventual success, the marketing team faced questions about its promotional campaign in the run-up to its release. Varun recalled that reports repeatedly criticised the film for having inadequate promotions and failing to generate sufficient excitement among audiences. However, Aditya remained confident in the team’s approach and did not question their decisions.He said on Everyday Empires podcast, “There were times when articles would come out saying the promotions were bad and there was no buzz. Aditya would just send them to me and say, ‘It’s all okay.’ There were no questions asked. That kind of trust makes you want to do anything for them. You become their warriors. I’m happy the film worked because everyone put a lot into it. But Aditya and Ranveer Singh, specifically, put in a lot beyond what they should have as a director and an actor. I’m happy for everyone associated with it.”Varun also addressed the issue of alleged paid smear campaigns against films ahead of their release. He observed that projects often face criticism irrespective of the promotional strategy adopted by their makers. According to him, when a leading star actively participates in promotions, questions arise about why an established actor needs to promote the film at all, with some arguing that a newer face could generate greater interest. On the other hand, when the star stays away from promotional activities, the makers are criticised for failing to create enough buzz.

Why Ranveer Singh did not promote ‘Dhurandhar’

Varun explained that the decision to keep Ranveer away from the film’s promotional activities was a deliberate one, taken jointly by the actor, director, producer and marketing team. He compared the strategy with Ranbir Kapoor’s promotional campaign for ‘Animal’, pointing out that the two actors were in different career phases before their respective films arrived in theatres.He said, “Ranbir had Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar before Animal released, Ranveer Singh had not had a great run before Dhurandhar. There was a very conscious decision between us, the director, the producer and the actor. We were like, ‘Okay, let the film and its assets talk. Let the actors not talk.'”Max Marketing has previously worked on campaigns for several major films, including ‘RRR’, ‘Animal’, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and ‘Chandu Champion’. The company is also associated with SS Rajamouli’s upcoming film ‘Varanasi’, which stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.The two-part ‘Dhurandhar’ franchise has emerged as a major commercial success. The first instalment, released in December 2025, featured Ranveer Singh alongside Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi, Sara Arjun, R Madhavan and Sanjay Dutt. The film went on to collect over Rs 1,300 crore worldwide, establishing the franchise as one of the biggest box-office performers in Indian cinema.