Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar franchise has rewritten the box-office record books, with Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: Revenge together earning more than Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. But according to producer Jyoti Deshpande, the journey to creating one of Indian cinema's biggest franchises was far from straightforward.
Speaking to ET Digital, Deshpande revealed how the makers navigated ballooning budgets, reimagined the project as a two-part saga midway through production, and adopted a unique risk-sharing model involving lead star Ranveer Singh and director Aditya Dhar.
Ranveer Singh and Aditya Dhar bet on the film's success
Rather than opting for large upfront remuneration, both Ranveer and Aditya agreed to backend profit-sharing deals, allowing them to participate in the film's financial success.
“In Dhurandhar, Ranveer came with a smaller fixed fee and a backend deal, and therefore benefited from that arrangement. The same was true for Aditya, who also came in with a smaller fixed fee and a backend. He ended up making a significant upside along with us. That’s how you distribute both the risk and the reward.”
Deshpande explained that this approach aligned the interests of the entire team and helped support the film's ambitious scale.
The budget spiralled beyond initial estimates
The producer admitted that the film eventually cost almost twice what had originally been planned.
“On Dhurandhar, we went all in. The film ended up being made for almost double the amount we had initially set out to spend. Of course, we eventually ended up with a two-part film, so it became a journey. In the end, all of us went laughing to the bank.”
While the increased spending was a major gamble, the producer said the eventual outcome justified the risk, with both films turning into massive commercial successes.
A one-film story that grew into two movies
Deshpande revealed that Dhurandhar was never intended to launch a franchise.
“Dhurandhar was written as one story. It was envisioned as one film and budgeted as one film. But after we completed the first shooting schedule, we realised the budget had already exceeded what we had planned.”
The turning point came when the team reviewed footage from the first schedule.
“The footage that came out of that first schedule was beautiful. The pace of the storytelling made us feel the story had the legs to become a two-part film.”
Even then, she said, converting the project into a franchise was not an obvious decision.
“When we first decided to fund it, making it into two films was not a certainty. We took that call somewhere along the journey. We had to commit capital before it became a slam dunk, although we felt there was a strong possibility and worked towards making it happen.”
Why the script immediately stood out
For Deshpande, the film's subject matter was unlike anything she had encountered before.
“It was fully set in Pakistan to begin with. We were talking about the deep state, and that is a concept that has existed in reality for years and years.”
The challenge of introducing such a complex geopolitical idea to a mainstream audience was one of the reasons she found the project compelling.
“However, it’s abstract enough that you have to explain what the deep state means to the common viewer. And it was going to break every conventional norm of storytelling. That idea excited me.”
Inspired by OTT storytelling and global franchises
Deshpande said the film's chapter-based narrative structure was another aspect that appealed to her.
“The chapterised format excited me. I’m a fan of that kind of storytelling, and Western films have done it very well. People today are used to watching content on OTT platforms. It’s episodic, immersive and allows viewers to spend more time in those worlds and with those characters. So I liked the idea of making a film that wasn’t simply a beginning, middle and end story but something that truly immerses audiences in that world.”
The makers also saw the potential for Dhurandhar to evolve into a long-term franchise.
“We felt that if we got it right, this could become a franchise that remains compelling for years to come. Look at Bond or Mission: Impossible — those are franchises that have stood the test of time.”
'It felt deeply patriotic to me'
Despite its action-packed and gangster-film exterior, Deshpande said she connected with the film on a deeper emotional level.
“Although it may look like a gangster film on the surface, I found it deeply moving and deeply patriotic. That gave me the purpose to make this film.”
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