The Risk-Sharing Masterstroke
Ranveer Singh and director Aditya Dhar didn’t just put their faith in Dhurandhar – they put their money where their mouths were. Producer Jyoti Deshpande has revealed that both the star and the filmmaker opted for backend profit-sharing deals instead of taking hefty upfront fees. According to Deshpande, Ranveer came on board with a smaller fixed fee and a backend arrangement, while Aditya followed the same path. The result? When the franchise crossed Rs 3,000 crore worldwide, everyone walked away smiling.
“Ranveer came with a smaller fixed fee and a backend deal, and therefore benefited from that arrangement. The same was true for Aditya,” Deshpande shared. She explained that this model helped distribute both risk and reward, ensuring the entire team was aligned on making the film a blockbuster. It’s a smart move that turned a gamble into a goldmine.
When One Film Became Two
The journey to creating one of Indian cinema’s biggest franchises was anything but smooth. Deshpande admitted that the film’s budget spiralled to nearly double the original estimate. What started as a single-film vision soon demanded a two-part treatment. The turning point came after the first shooting schedule, when the footage looked so stunning that the team felt the story had the legs to expand.
“The film ended up being made for almost double the amount we had initially set out to spend,” she said. “We took that call somewhere along the journey.” The decision wasn’t a certainty from day one, but the makers committed capital before it became a slam dunk. In the end, both Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: Revenge became massive commercial successes, proving the risk was worth it.
A Deeply Patriotic Gangster Saga
Despite its action-packed, gangster-film exterior, Deshpande revealed that the script resonated with her on a deeper emotional level. “I found it deeply moving and deeply patriotic,” she said. The film’s setting in Pakistan and its exploration of the deep state – a concept she admits is abstract for mainstream audiences – excited her precisely because it broke conventional storytelling norms.
Inspired by Western franchises like Bond and Mission: Impossible, Deshpande saw the potential for Dhurandhar to become a long-term franchise. “If we got it right, this could become a franchise that remains compelling for years to come,” she added. With a chapterised narrative format and OTT-style immersion, the film aimed to let audiences spend more time in its world. And with Ranveer and Aditya betting on backend deals, that world just got a whole lot richer.