- Ranveer Singh did not promote Dhurandhar due to his prior films' poor performance
- Dhurandhar's marketing involved a 3.5-minute promo video released six months before launch
- Varun Gupta’s agency handled Dhurandhar marketing before the cast was finalised
Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar franchise emerged as one of the biggest Hindi box office successes of all time. Before it shattered records, the Aditya Dhar directorial had received criticism for its marketing strategy.
Now, Varun Gupta, the founder of Max Marketing, which was the agency behind the franchise's promotional campaign, has opened up on why Ranveer Singh did not promote the film.
In a conversation with the Everyday Empires podcast, Varun also recalled how Aditya Dhar had reacted to the criticism around Dhurandhar's marketing strategy.
Why Ranveer Singh Did Not Promote Dhurandhar
Varun said that Ranveer took a step back from the espionage action film as his previous few movies had not performed as per expectations.
Contrasting the decision with Ranbir Kapoor's promotional campaign for Animal, Varun said, “Ranbir had Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar before Animal released, Ranveer Singh had not had a great run before Dhurandhar.”
He added, “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.'"
Varun's company has previously been associated with the marketing campaign for films such as RRR, Animal, and Kalki 2898 AD.
Varun said that the makers of Dhurandhar had put out a 3.5-minute-long promotional video six months before its release, something that was uncommon in Bollywood.
He also added that his agency was brought onboard even before the cast was finalised.
Dhurandhar Marketing Head On Aditya Dhar's Reaction
He also recalled the negativity around the film, stating that articles would slam the lack of buzz around Dhurandhar.
“Aditya would just send them to me and say, ‘It's all okay.' There were no questions asked,” Varun explained.
The marketing executive also said he was happy for everyone associated with the franchise.
Praising Aditya Dhar and Ranveer Singh in particular, he said that the duo had “put in a lot beyond what they should have as a director and an actor.”
Varun also discussed about the alleged paid smear campaigns films face ahead of their release. He claimed that when a particular actor's film is about to release, certain sections criticise it unnecessarily.
He added that filmmakers are slammed by audiences whether they take the lead actor out for promotions or not.
Dhurandhar starred Ranveer Singh, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, and Akshaye Khanna in pivotal roles. The first part grossed over Rs 1,300 crore worldwide.
The second part, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, collected over Rs 1,800 crore worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
Also Read I 'Dhurandhar Has Some Of The Most Disgusting Scenes In Indian Cinema': Shashi Tharoor Calls It 'Propaganda'