Finally, Aditya Dhar’s espionage thriller Dhurandhar was in the Indian cinema and after reaching ₹1000 crore in India, it broke new records for box-office receipts. But thanks to the film being available today at Netflix, January 30, 2026, fan interest in its runtime has exploded in a format-fueled debate online.
The Runtime Mystery: 3h 34m vs 3h 25m
For three hours and thirty-four minutes: Dhurandhar's theatrical runtime on December 5, the festival had the size of a giant. Dhurandhar, by contrast, finished with a record-breaking time of 3 hours 34 minutes (214 minutes). This is one of the longest Hindi films in recent times. Yet its time on Netflix shows it's probably no more than three hours and 25 minutes. This 9-minute inconsistency has left the audience with two fundamental hypotheses:
Censorship Concerns: Certain dialogues and cuss words which were included in the 'A' rated theatrical version were reported to have been cut or muted for the global streaming audience.
Pacing Edits: There is speculation today that director Aditya Dhar may have ‘worked the film out of the narrative for a more seamless digital experience’, especially with the film’s rigorously character-study style.
Fans complain about disappointment
As for content coverage, viewers flooded social media with reactions, seeing a “Uncut” or “Extended” version of the movie that was being prepped on OTT, something often seen with big budget blockbusters. The abbreviated run time and speculation of muted dialogues, though, has made many feel they have been “robbed” of the rough and tumble vibe that rendered the film a theatrical juggernaut. “Why certify a film ‘Adult’ and then censor it on an adult platform? We wanted the raw version, not a trimmed one,” one sour fan complained on X (formerly Twitter).
A Historic Box Office Run
Yet the runtime mess hasn’t tarnished the movie’s lasting image. Dhurandhar made a global record with over ₹1350 crore, rewriting the history books. Today, this film is India’s highest-grossing Bollywood film, ahead of the other giants Jawan and Pushpa 2: The Rule. The Indian spy is Hamza Ali Mazari, played by Ranveer Singh, who joins an all-star cast that includes Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal working in Pakistan.
What’s Next? Dhurandhar Part 2
The online release is a bridge to the highly anticipated sequel. Scheduled officially for release on March 19, 2026 (Eid), this latest installment of Dhurandhar Part 2 will see the major events of the first film unfolded. The series is all about the enigmatic "Bade Sahab," as well as Major Iqbal from Arjun Rampal, who as well is major.
