Dhurandhar The Revenge Preview Screenings Plunge into Nationwide Chaos
The highly anticipated paid preview screenings of the film Dhurandhar The Revenge turned into a logistical nightmare across multiple Indian cities on Wednesday, with shows abruptly stopping at the interval as the second half of the film failed to reach numerous cinemas. Disappointed audiences, who had booked tickets in advance, faced unprecedented delays, cancellations, and confusion.
Audiences Left Waiting for Hours as Shows Fail to Resume
Moviegoers reported chaotic scenes at theaters, with many having to wait between 1.5 to 2 hours for films to start, watch movies begin after the interval, or simply leave as screenings failed to resume. "I had booked a 7:30 PM show in Noida, and when we came out during the interval at 8:30 PM, we found that moviegoers who had come for the 5 PM show were also waiting for the post-interval version of the film," one frustrated attendee shared.
The situation escalated at some locations where audiences actually called the police to complain about the film not being played. Police officials had to intervene, telling angry fans, "It's not the cinema's fault; they don't have the film." Theater managers echoed this sentiment, stating in Hindi, "Aisa nahi hai hum film dikhana nahi chahte, lekin hamare paas film hi nahi hai" (It's not that we don't want to show the film, but we don't have the film itself).
PVR Issues Statement Acknowledging "Content-Related Challenges"
PVR Cinemas released an official statement addressing the widespread issues: "To everyone who stayed back and watched the film despite the delays – thank you for your patience, warmth, and love for cinema. To those whose shows were delayed or cancelled, we sincerely apologise."
The statement continued: "Delays happened due to content-related challenges in certain locations beyond our control. Cancellations occurred as regional language versions were not made available by the production side, as also shared on their official platforms."
Last-Minute Content Delivery Creates Impossible Timeline
Industry insiders revealed that the film's content was delivered to digital service providers like UFO Moviez at the very last minute, creating an impossible distribution timeline. Typically, content is delivered two days before screenings, but in this case, digital cinema providers received the material only after 1 PM for 5 PM previews.
"Content was delivered somewhere around noon yesterday, and shows were meant to start at 5 PM," an insider explained. "The fact that shows could happen at many places at 5 PM itself is a miracle. It speaks volumes about the efforts and hustle that the distribution team and digital cinema providers put in."
Another source highlighted the scale of the challenge: "With just a 4-5 hour lead time between when the content was provided and the release, it had to be distributed across more than 6,000 screens in less than five hours – something that can only be described as extremely challenging."
Confusion Reigns Across Multiple Cities
In Mumbai, most Hindi paid preview shows at 5 PM were cancelled, with 5:30 PM screenings delayed by 40 minutes. A source noted that most theaters didn't receive the necessary content and Key Delivery Message (KDM) – the digital "passcode" required to play films – on time, with Hindi versions only delivered by 6 PM.
Manoj Desai, Executive Director of G7 and Maratha Mandir, expressed bewilderment: "It's strange that they weren't prepared even though they had opened advanced bookings for paid previews days ago. This inconvenienced the audience a lot. The crowd was angry at our staff because the shows were cancelled, but we had nothing to do with it."
Audiences reported widespread confusion. Jothika M Joshi, a PhD student in Chennai, said: "The show was scheduled for 5 PM, but we waited outside the theatre for nearly 30 minutes. Even after taking our seats, there was another delay. No one offered any explanation."
Another moviegoer, Divya Reddy, described contradictory information: "While booking, the platform carried a disclaimer that even IMAX shows would run in a regular format. Yet at the theatre, we were told only IMAX screenings would go ahead. The lack of clarity and last-minute cancellation left people confused and disappointed."
Financial Success Amid Technical Failure
Despite the technical chaos, exhibitor Raj Bansal revealed that the paid previews have earned over ₹42 crore, indicating strong audience interest despite the operational failures. The incident has raised serious questions about distribution logistics for major film releases in India's digital cinema era.
