Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, with Ranveer Singh in the lead has set the box office on fire, crossing the Rs 1000 crore mark in global collections. Despite
an impressive performance in all markets, the film was not released in several Middle Eastern countries. Now, as per reports, with its absence in the Gulf markets, the film has lost nearly Rs 90 crore due to the ban. As per a report in India Today, which cited CNN-News18, Pranab Kapadia, who is Dhurandhar's overseas distributor, the ban in Middle East due to the film's anti-Pakistan messaging was a missed opportunity for the Ranveer Singh film. "I think this is at least a ten million dollar box office that we have lost, because traditionally action films have always performed very well in the Middle East. And therefore, we feel that it should have gotten a release. But, at the same time, we have to respect the views and the rules and regulations of every territory and every country, and they have their reasons," Kapadia said. Kapadia also noted that several films in the past have not seen the light of day in the Gulf countries as well, including Fighter. However, he noted that if not Gulf, Dhurandhar has found its audience elsewhere. The film has continued to attract audiences internationally, crossing Rs 1,100 crore. However, insiders have noted that the numbers could have been even higher with a Gulf release. Kapadia pointed out that the December holiday window helped soften the blow of the ban to some extent. Several Gulf-based fans, who would normally watch Bollywood releases locally, ended up catching the film while travelling overseas during the festive break. “I personally know people who travelled abroad in December, which is peak holiday season,” he told the publication adding however, many flew from the Gulf to Europe or the US and made sure to set aside an evening to watch Dhurandhar. He explained that the film released at a time when the latter half of December was largely a holiday period, so audiences travelling abroad were able to plan a theatre visit and watch the cinematic spectacle.
