For nearly nine years, the title of India's biggest Hindi film did not actually belong to Bollywood. In 2017, Baahubali 2 overtook Dangal and held the all-time record for more than seven years.
Even though films like Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan, and Stree 2 topped net records, they fell short in gross collections, which reflect actual earnings.
That long standing trend changed yesterday.
Directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, Dhurandhar collected approximately Rs. 4.25 crore net on its fifth Tuesday. With that, the film crossed Rs. 741 crores net in India after 33 days, overtaking Pushpa 2 The Rule, which stood at around Rs. 738 crores net. In gross terms, Dhurandhar now leads with about Rs. 893 crores, narrowly edging past Pushpa 2's Rs. 892 crores.
Dhurandhar is expected to finish around Rs. 775 crores net business lifetime in India. Reaching Rs. 800 crores net now looks difficult unless the film shows unusually strong holds in the coming weeks.
The film has also become the most watched original Hindi film in theatres post pandemic, selling roughly 3.25 crore tickets and overtaking Gadar 2. While its collections are far ahead of other Bollywood films, the footfall gap is not massive. A major reason for the high totals is sustained premium pricing, especially in multiplexes. This is unlike most films that reduce ticket rates after the second Monday. Even now, beating Dangal's 3.7 crore footfalls remains a tough ask.
Meanwhile, this milestone has triggered a fresh round of online trolling aimed at Tollywood producer
Now that Dhurandhar has overtaken Pushpa 2 in Hindi collections without the sequel factor and any pan-India push in other languages, that old statement has resurfaced. Bollywood fans are circulating the clip widely, using it to argue that the Hindi industry has proved its strength on its own terms.
Social media reactions have been sharp and unsparing. Several users are saying this episode shows how quickly narratives change in cinema. After unreal domination in 2023, Bollywood once again emerged on top in 2025, and South is currently trailing far behind.
Overall, the backlash has become less about Pushpa 2 or Dhurandhar specifically and more about ego, perception, and the fragile nature of box-office supremacy. Many users are saying this is a reminder that arrogance in cinema rarely ages well and that box office dominance keeps shifting hands.