The current Bollywood landscape is buzzing with the unprecedented success of Aditya Dhar’s latest directorial venture, Dhurandhar, which has rewritten box office records by grossing over ₹600 crore worldwide within weeks of its release in December 2025.
The film, a gritty espionage thriller starring Ranveer Singh as a deep-cover operative infiltrating Pakistani terror networks, has been hailed as a “cinematic correction,” offering a raw, grounded alternative to the increasingly criticised “superficial” tropes of the YRF Spy Universe.
However, amidst this widespread industry celebration, a curious observation has dominated social media: Alia Bhatt, Ranveer’s close friend and frequent collaborator, has maintained a conspicuous silence regarding the film’s massive triumph.
While peers like Anupam Kher and even survivors of the 26/11 attacks have publicly lauded Ranveer’s “haunting” performance as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, Alia’s only recent acknowledgement of her Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani co-star came through a nostalgic Vogue interview.
In the clip, she looked back at their 2019 film Gully Boy, calling Ranveer “outstanding” and praising the “solid vibe” of his rap and performance in the six-year-old classic. This selective praise for a legacy project while ignoring his current career-defining blockbuster has ignited intense debate among fans and industry insiders alike.
The narrative surrounding this “silence” is deeply intertwined with the shifting power dynamics of Bollywood’s spy genre. Alia Bhatt is the face of Yash Raj Films’ upcoming female-led spy thriller, Alpha, which was recently postponed to April 2026 following the underwhelming performance of War 2.
Industry analysts suggest that the success of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar poses a direct threat to the YRF Spy Universe’s monopoly, as audiences have begun favouring Dhar’s realistic, “government-embedded” storytelling over the over-the-top action sequences typical of the Tiger and Pathaan franchises.
On platforms like Reddit, fans have speculated that Alia’s reluctance to celebrate Dhurandhar stems from her loyalty to the YRF camp and her mentor Karan Johar, or perhaps a strategic move to avoid drawing further comparisons between the “grounded” world of Dhurandhar and the “glamorous” world of Alpha.
The contrast is particularly sharp because Alia and Ranveer have historically shared a very vocal bond, with Alia even revealing on Koffee with Karan that Ranveer was one of the first people she told about her engagement to Ranbir Kapoor.
Furthermore, the “Dhurandhar” phenomenon has highlighted a growing rift in the industry. While the film has provided a major career resurgence for Akshaye Khanna and R. Madhavan, it has also faced criticism for being a “rage-bait” narrative that panders to nationalist sentiments.
Some believe Alia might be distancing herself from the film’s polarising political undertones, while others argue it is purely a professional conflict of interest given the rivalry between Dhurandhar and the YRF slate.
Regardless of the motive, her decision to praise Ranveer for a role from 2019 rather than his current 2025 milestone has fueled a “Gully Boy vs. As Dhurandhar prepares for its sequel release in March 2026, the industry continues to watch closely to see if the “outstanding” camaraderie between these two superstars will eventually overcome the competitive pressures of their respective spy universes.
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