As Kartik Aaryan takes indirect dig at ‘hypermasculine’ Dhurandhar, trade expert says warned actor, Karan Johar to postpone Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri 

Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar were requested to push Tu Meri Main Tera release due to Dhurandhar (Photos: Kartik Aaryan, Karan Johar, Jio Studios / Instagram)

The year 2025 has been a mixed bag when it comes to box office — if there were many that wrapped up at the ticket windows while disappointing their audience (here’s looking at you Sikander and War 2), Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar has been an outlier who is daily beaking records in its fourth week. Breaking records that Chhaava, Jawan, Stree 2, and many other films had set, Dhurandhar is also proving to be quite a tough competition to the other releases. While the Hollywood release Avatar Fire and Ash still managed to have a decent box office earning, Kartik Aaryan-Ananya Panday-starrer Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri has been hit hard by the Dhurandhar wave.

Kartik Aaryan shared a post by screenplay writer Saurabh Bharat on Monday which feted Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri for being progressive amid films that are hypermasculine. Kartik reacted with a heart on the post that read, “It’s so heartwarming to see that amidst the madness of hypermasculinity and testosterone-boasting action films, someone is making a breezing progressive film. Congratulations. For building a genre of cinema which entertains yet pushes an envelope deep in the society.”

Turns out, both Karan Johar and Kartik Aaryan had been warned about their release and requested to push Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri release date amid Dhurandhar success. As reported by Bollywood Hungama, trade analyst Taran Adarsh said he requested both Dharma Productions and Kartik Aaryan to reconsider their release dates. “Five days before the release, I called Dharma Productions’ team and requested that they postpone the release. I told them, ‘There’s a strong Dhurandhar wave. You still have time. Even if you get the screens, you won’t get the audience’. When I saw the film, I told Kartik Aaryan that he made a mistake by coming amid the Dhurandhar wave. I strongly feel that when a film unleashes a tsunami, it’s best to shift to another date. There should be no ego at all,” Taran Adarsh said.

The trade analyst also spoke to ANI about Aditya Dhar’s film’s success and said he saw such a craze in the audience after Sholay. Praising Dhurandhar, Taran Adarsh told ANI, “The way Dhurandhar is performing at the box office, I will say it’s a tsunami, we rarely get to see this at the box office. If you compare it with other films, it will be wrong because it is breaking all records that Pushpa, Jawan, Pathaan, Stree 2, Baahubali 2, or any other film made. It is setting new benchmarks.”

“The film is a top-class entertainer, it shows things that have not been seen on the big screen before. All the actors in the film have done a brilliant job. I salute Aditya Dhar and Jyoti Deshpande. This is the best film of 2025. Dhurandhar has also proven that the audience wants to come to the theaters, they want to buy expensive tickets, if the story is good. I am only wondering what will happen when Dhurandhar 2 releases,” Taran Adarsh added.

Sharing how other films have been affected due to Dhurandhar’s success, Taran Adarsh shared, “A week after Dhurandhar, Kapil Sharma’s film released – Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon 2, it got affected. Then the Hollywood film Avatar also didn’t get a great response. Even Kartik Aaryan’s film has gotten tough competition from Dhurandhar.”

In its 24-day run, Dhurandhar has earned Rs 862.23 crores gross in India and has crossed Rs 1100 cr mark globally. As per Sacnilk, on Sunday, Dhurandhar collected Rs 22.5 crores. Unfortunately, Kartik’s film has managed to earn just one-fifth of the amount of Dhurandhar, Rs 5.25 crores, on the same day. In its 4-day run, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri has earned a total of Rs 23.75 crores in India, which is his lowest first weekend earnings in 8 years. On its fourth day at the box office, Dhurandhar had earned a total Rs 23.25 crores in India.