MUMBAI:A blockbuster at the box office and a contraband curiosity across the border, Dhurandhar is now spinning on DVD players in Karachi for the price of a cup of tea.
The chatter began after New Zealand based YouTuber Karl Rock posted a video from Karachi’s bustling Rainbow Centre, long known as a go to spot for electronics and pirated media. In the clip, a shopkeeper is seen offering DVDs of the Ranveer Singh starrer for just PKR 50, which comes to roughly Rs 16.
The twist? The film is officially banned in Pakistan and several Gulf countries because of its politically sensitive plot centred on Indian intelligence operations inside Pakistan. Yet, as the video suggests, bans rarely stop a good story from crossing borders, especially when it travels through the grey market.
Rock also points out an interesting bit of trivia in the video. Ranveer Singh has Sindhi roots, with his grandparents having migrated from Karachi to India during the Partition. The detail adds a curious full circle moment to the actor’s unexpected popularity in the city of his family’s past.
Despite the ban, the film’s popularity in Pakistan has been hard to contain. When it dropped on Netflix in late January 2026, Dhurandhar quickly climbed to the number one spot in the country. Reports also suggest that it was downloaded more than two million times in Pakistan within two weeks of its theatrical release.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, best known for Uri: The Surgical Strike, Dhurandhar released on 5 December 2025 as a high octane spy thriller. Singh plays Hamza, an Indian operative who infiltrates the criminal underbelly of Lyari in Karachi to bring down a notorious kingpin, Rehman Dakait, played by Akshaye Khanna. The film also features Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal in key roles.
The film has been a runaway success, crossing Rs 1,000 crore in India and Rs 1,350 crore worldwide, and a sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, is set to release on 19 March 2026.
For now, though, the film’s journey in Karachi is less about red carpets and more about dusty shelves and bargain bins, proving that when a movie clicks with audiences, it finds a way to play on, even if it costs just Rs 16.
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