Ranveer Singh, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, and Sanjay Dutt’s Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar, turned out to be a massive commercial success. The franchise went on to break several
box office records. The film’s popularity, however, didn’t end with its theatrical run. It went on to attract a significant global audience after arriving on Netflix. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Co-CEO, recently spoke about the film and revealed that it was one of the Indian titles that performed exceptionally well on the streaming service, proving that its appeal extended far beyond cinemas.
While speaking at The Indian Express’s Express Adda, Ted Sarandos was asked whether Indian films and shows have begun enjoying the same kind of worldwide cultural impact as the Korean phenomenon Squid Game. He said that Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar was the most-watched non-English movie in the world this year. He shared, “Dhurandhar was the most-watched non-English movie in the world this year. Bigger than every other English [movie] and second only to the US and the UK in terms of watching.”
During the conversation, Sarandos said people often ask him when India will witness a global cultural phenomenon comparable to South Korea’s Squid Game or Spain’s La casa de papel (Money Heist). He responded by saying that India is already producing globally successful content on a regular basis, adding that such moments happen “all the time.” He further said that Indian films have a strong chance of leaving a lasting impact on audiences worldwide.
Ted said, “It’s much more likely to be in cinema. I think, right now, because there is this enormous, beautiful, rich, long history of movies in India. I think when we came in and made Sacred Games, it was a whole different kind of television, so through most of the history and all that that’s coming through, it’s likely to come through in the form of cinema.”
He went on to continue, “We have had an indian movie or series in the global top 10 every week since 2024. And this is the result of an algorithm that helps you find things, and that’s unintuitive, that I am going to love. So in that number, with 3.5 billion hours of watching Indian content on Netflix around the world this year.”
The first instalment of Dhurandhar hit theatres in December 2025 before making its digital debut on Netflix ahead of the release of the second part in March 2026. Following its theatrical run, the sequel also arrived on streaming and is currently available to watch in India on both Netflix and JioHotstar.
