Why Dhurandhar 2 is packing theatres in Tamil Nadu, Kerala despite little appeal for BJP

By Samira Vishwas On Mar 24, 2026

While Tamil Nadu and Kerala have never been the most welcoming markets for Hindi cinema, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge is doing what few Bollywood films before it have managed, drawing consistent crowds in both states, running to packed houses well into its first week.

The film, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, has been widely criticised as a piece of political propaganda that glorifies the Modi government and its more controversial decisions, including demonetisation. The irony is difficult to miss. Two states that have historically kept the BJP at bay are filling seats for a film that critics say carries the ruling party’s ideological fingerprints.

The Federal looks at the numbers, the logistics, and what is actually drawing audiences in.

The national picture

To understand the Southern performance in context, the scale of Dhurandhar 2’s overall success needs to be established first.

On its first Monday (March 23), Dhurandhar 2 had collected ₹65 crore from 20,382 shows, pushing its domestic net past the ₹500 crore mark. After five days, the film stands at ₹519.12 crore net in India, with its worldwide gross climbing to ₹829.76 crore, according to tracking platform Sacnilk.

Also read | Dhurandhar: The Revenge has a screenplay mired in clichés, but plays to the gallery

Its predecessor, Dhurandharreleased in December 2025, had already set the stage. It crossed the ₹1,000 crore worldwide mark on December 26, 2025, becoming the fourth Hindi film to achieve this, and went on to collect ₹1,350.83 crore globally, making it the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 and the second highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.

Tamil Nadu: A delayed start, a strong hold

The Tamil Nadu story begins with a stumble. Several Tamil shows were cancelled or delayed due to censor clearance issues and the late delivery of dubbed versions, with audiences in many centres either offered refunds or asked to watch the Hindi version instead.

The proper Tamil release only commenced from Day 3, March 21, after administrative delays in censor clearance for the dubbed version. According to Sacnilk, on its first full day of dubbed screening, the film recorded a net collection of ₹2.95 crore with a 61% occupancy rate, followed by ₹2.50 crore on Day 4 with 53% occupancy. Its two-day dubbed total crossed the ₹5.45 crore mark.

Historically, Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan holds the record for the highest Tamil net for a Bollywood film, at ₹30.08 crore, having surpassed the lifetime ₹11.48 crore of Dangal. Trade observers are currently tracking Dhurandhar 2 as a potential challenger to these figures.

The legal friction has paradoxically amplified the film’s visibility. An urgent plea was mentioned before the Madras High Court seeking a total ban on the film’s release in Tamil Nadu, with the petitioner citing the film’s political content. Trade observers noted that films facing high-profile ban calls often experience a reverse-swing effect, where public curiosity drives higher footfalls once legal hurdles are cleared.

Also read: ‘A must-watch film’: Rajinikanth hails ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’

Superstar Rajinikanth’s public endorsement of the film on social media, combined with the ban controversy, gave Dhurandhar 2 a level of visibility that marketing budgets alone cannot buy.

Trade analyst Ramesh points to a simpler explanation for the traction the film found in Tamil Nadu even before its dubbed version arrived.

“Despite the first part of Dhurandhar not releasing in Tamil language, the film got traction due to the reels and the memes about it. People then sought out the first part on Netflix. Added to it is the immediate release of the second part. Usually, the sequel used to come one or two years later, but Dhurandhar 2 was released within months. People were still talking about the first part, and it helped the momentum,” he said.

Kerala: Release strategy that changed game

In Kerala, the story is less about numbers and more about access. Suraj Surendran, partner at M/S 1895 Studios, the distribution partner in the state, says the approach to releasing the film was fundamentally different from how Hindi films have traditionally been handled in Kerala.

“This is the first time a Hindi film was released in hundreds of screens across Kerala, which is a record in itself. And despite running in several screens, the film is doing well into the second week. If you ask me why the film has worked better than most Hindi films released here, it is because we made sure the film is released across Kerala in every nook and corner. It was released like a local Malayalam movie. Before this, all such films only had limited release,” Suraj told The Federal.

He added that the Malayalam version was screened in around 100 screens across the state, with an additional 20 screens in the border regions. While a concrete box office number is yet to be arrived at, industry buzz confirms the film has maintained strong occupancy through the first week, a rare achievement for a Hindi-origin production in the state.

Politics in hall vs politics outside it

Perhaps the most pointed question hanging over Dhurandhar 2’s South Indian run is this: how does a film widely described as glorifying the Modi government’s policy record, including demonetisation, find an enthusiastic audience in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, states that have consistently resisted the BJP’s political expansion?

Also Read: Why Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar films are India’s very own wish-fulfilment military drama

A well-known Malayalam film critic, who did not wish to be named, was direct: “It is a no brainer. Masses aren’t worried about the propaganda or the subtle politics in a film. If it is an entertaining film and fun, they will flock to the theatre. Even when films like Animal and Pushpa were released, it was only a small faction who were criticising the films for being violent and chauvinistic. The masses made it a hit, because, to them, it was entertaining. The same applies to Dhurandhar. It is working well because it is gripping.”

The point carries weight. In both states, the critical conversation about the film’s political subtext has largely remained within intellectual and activist circles. At the multiplex, the calculation is simpler.

Gripping enough to cross political line

Dhurandhar 2 is not the first Bollywood film to carry an ideological edge into markets hostile to that ideology – Kerala Story comes to one’s mind. But it may be one of the few to do so with this level of box office success. The combination of distribution muscle in Kerala, social media momentum built on the prequel’s streaming popularity, a Rajinikanth endorsement in Tamil Nadu, and an engaging screenplay has allowed the film to clear barriers that have stopped many Hindi productions at the state border.