Yami Gautam on boycott culture before Dhurandhar release, calls out 'MONSTER' of trend

Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh, is one of the most-awaited movies of the year. Ahead of its release, the film has been facing backlash, and a trend of boycott has started against it.

The movie got embroiled in a legal battle after the family of Major Mohit Sharma filed a petition seeking a stay on the release. Following that, an FIR was registered against the film after the controversy surrounding Singh’s mimicry of Kantara: Chapter 1 at IFFI 2025. Amid all this, actress Yami Gautam, who is the wife of director Aditya Dhar, has penned a long note against the boycott movement that has recently gained momentum on social media.

Dhurandhar controversy: Why is Yami Gautam facing social media backlash?

Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar is set to release on December 5, and ahead of its release, Yami has written a lengthy note addressing how certain movies have become targets of negative coverage. She also called out the extortion of money in the name of marketing.

Taking to her Instagram handle, the actress wrote that there is a so-called trend of giving money.

“There is something I’ve been wanting to express since really long, I feel today is that day & I must. 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. 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,” it read.

The actor further added, “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. 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.”

Yami hails husband Aditya Dhar, says she is the wife of an extremely honest man

Mentioning the unity in the South Indian film industry, the actress wrote “In South no one can dare do such things because the industry stands united on lot of fronts. I urge our esteemed producers, directors & actors to come together in order to arrest this termite of a culture at this stage itself & discourage it.”

“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. I say 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. 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,” she wrote, concluding her words.

Yami's comment on the negative coverage has quickly gained attention, and Hrithik Roshan was quick to come out in support of her Kaabil co-star.

Saying that all that gets lost is the true voice of journalists, he wrote on X,“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 the potential where feedback helps us evolve. Their own right to freedom gets unknowingly usurped and so does our chance of growth. Without freedom of expression, without the truth helping us evolve , what job satisfaction can they or any of us hope for?”