In a candid outburst on the eve of her husband Aditya Dhar’s much-anticipated directorial Dhurandhar‘s release, actress Yami Gautam Dhar has slammed the pervasive practice of paid campaigns in Bollywood that artificially inflate hype for films or orchestrate negativity against rivals. Calling it a “monster of a trend” that amounts to “extortion,” Gautam warned that the industry’s future hangs in the balance if such “termite-like” tactics aren’t curbed immediately. Her impassioned plea on X quickly garnered support from Bollywood heavyweight Hrithik Roshan, who echoed her concerns about the erosion of genuine feedback and journalistic integrity.
Yami Gautam’s post comes amid controversies surrounding Dhurandhar, a high-stakes spy thriller starring Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, and Arjun Rampal. Set for release tomorrow, December 5, the film has been mired in legal battles and public backlash. Gautam said that her husband has given everything to this film with his undying hard-work, vision and grit.
“This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ for a film is created or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay ‘them’ money feels nothing but kind of extortion,” Gautam wrote in her post earlier today. “Just because this arrangement is accessible to anyone- whether to ‘hype’ a film or spread negativity against another actor/a film is a plague that is going to affect the future of our industry in a big way,” she warned.
There is something iv been wanting to express since really long, I feel today is that day & I must .
— Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam) December 4, 2025
This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ for a film is created or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things…
Model turned actress Yami Gautam who has carved a niche for herself in Bollywood with unique movies playing strong female characters, further said, “Unfortunately if anyone feels- it’s harmless & let’s do it because it’s the new ‘normal’, is mistaken. This monster of a ‘trend’ is eventually going to bite everyone.”
She also hinted what has been claimed by many in recent years, that the numbers of some ‘blockbuster’ numbers are fake and artificially inflated. She said, “If truth is exposed about a million things under the garb of who & what ‘success’ is over the past 5 years esp, unfortunately it’s not going to be a pretty picture for many.”
Drawing a stark contrast with the South Indian film industry, where she said “no one can dare do such things because the industry stands united,” Gautam urged producers, directors, and actors to “come together in order to arrest this termite of a culture at this stage itself & discourage it.”
Talking about Dhurandhar, Gautam said, “I say this as a wife of an extremely honest man who has given everything to this film with his undying hard-work, vision & grit along with his team to create something that I know India shall be proud of.”
She said that she has said this as a “deeply concerned member of the fraternity who, like many other industry professionals, wishes to see Indian cinema blossom with its best potential & not the other way around.” Yami Gautam ended her long post with saying “Lets not kill the joy of film making & presenting it to the world & letting the audience decide what they feel. We need to protect our industry environment.”
Hrithik Roshan, replying to Gautam’s post, amplified her voice by highlighting the human cost of such manipulations. ” More than anything , the golden thing that gets lost and leaves them and all of us impoverished is the journalists true voice , a chance for them to inform all the creative forces behind a movie what they felt , thought , what they applaud and criticise,” Roshan posted. He lamented how paid narratives usurp “freedom of expression” and stifle growth, asking, “Without freedom of expression, without the truth helping us evolve, what job satisfaction can they or any of us hope for?”
More than anything , the golden thing that gets lost and leaves them and all of us impoverished is the journalists true voice , a chance for them to inform all the creative forces behind a movie what they felt , thought , what they applaud and criticise. Only true opinions have…
— Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) December 4, 2025
Gautam responded by saying, “Absolutely true!”
Dhurandhar‘s Rocky Road to Release
Gautam’s post comes ahead of the release of Dhurandhar, which has been battered by a series of controversies in recent weeks. Directed by Aditya Dhar, known for the 2019 hit Uri: The Surgical Strike, the movie has been certified ‘A’ by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after cuts to violent visuals and profanities. Despite Dhar’s public clarification that it is not a biopic, the family of late Major Mohit Sharma, an Ashoka Chakra and Sena Medal recipient martyred in 2009 during a covert operation in Kashmir, filed a petition in the Delhi High Court on November 28 seeking an immediate stay on its release.
The Sharma family alleged that the movie “exploits” their son’s life, undercover alias “Iftikhar Bhatt,” and classified missions without consent from them or the Indian Army, violating posthumous dignity, privacy rights, and national security. The CBFC, after a fresh review, cleared the film on December 2, finding “no link” to Major Sharma, allowing it to proceed unaltered beyond edits ordered earlier.
The movie is also facing trouble in Pakistan, as the widow of Pakistani terrorist handler Chaudhary Aslam, who was killed in a 2014 encounter, has threatened action against the movie objecting to her husband’s portrayal.
