The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 were held on Sunday, April 5, and since then, it’s been in the news for multiple reasons. At the awards, Zakir Khan joked about how filmmakers located between Bandra and Juhu in Mumbai are jealous of Dhurandhar’s historic success. A section of the netizens lapped it up and made it viral. However, it also led to backlash, which was also from the film industry. The most prominent celebrity to make his displeasure clear was Siddharth Anand of War, Pathaan and Fighter fame. Soon, more people from within and outside the industry also spoke against Zakir’s joke.
Since Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge were released, a narrative has been forming that the Bollywood film industry can’t digest how well these films have performed historically at the box office. Until now, trolls, people with an agenda, and those with little idea how the industry functions have discussed this narrative. But the moment a popular comic echoed it at a mainstream award show, the narrative acquired legitimacy. One can imagine the satisfaction among those who seeded and spread this claim, complete with self-congratulatory “I knew it” and “Told you so” messages.
Of course, one can argue that what Zakir Khan said was not false. He merely stated a reality. However, it is important to understand the context. Firstly, jealousy is a natural human tendency. There are some people who’ll never be happy, but there are also those who are celebrating. Also, an attempt is made to show that while Bollywood celebrates the success of all other films, it only has issues with the historical records of the Dhurandhar series. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The reality is that whenever any film has created history, some insecurity has followed. Eminent trade analyst Komal Nahta said more than 16 years ago how the unbelievable business done by 3 Idiots ‘created palpitations in the film industry’. To quote him, “The collections of 3 Idiots are giving the rest of the industry heart palpitations. It’s not just a hit; it’s a monster that has made every other ‘big’ film look small. My phone hasn't stopped ringing with people asking if the figures are manipulated.”
3 Idiots was the first film to cross the Rs. 200 crores mark. Just a year before, Ghajini had inaugurated the Rs. 100 crores club. The industry expected the next big hit to cross the Rs. 150 crores mark, while the hit that would follow would collect Rs. 175 crores. 3 Idiots straightaway jumped to Rs. 200 crores. And as expected, it led to jealousy.
And this happens across all industries. If a wave of jealousy crept over Bollywood celebs in Bandra and Juhu, a similar emotion must have emerged in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills when S S Rajamouli boosted the Pan-India phenomenon with Baahubali. The jealousy would have been 10x or more when Baahubali 2 went on to do record business in all languages, including a mind-boggling Rs. 510 crores in Hindi. Do people really feel that the other Telugu film directors would not have felt envious of S S Rajamouli? Would they not have asked themselves, ‘Why didn’t we think of something like this’ while going through the box office numbers of the two-part series?
There were reports down South that a section of the industry is jealous of Allu Arjun and is therefore spreading rumours of his rift with director Sukumar on the sets of Pushpa 2. Prashanth Neel, in his interviews, has hinted that he noticed a shift in his industry's behaviour after his film KGF became a sleeper hit.
None of these reports or quotes went viral. Instead, after Baahubali 2, KGF Chapter 2, Pushpa 2 and RRR became hits, the narrative was spread that ‘Bollywood is insecure’. Funnily, when a Bollywood film also achieves such a level of success, we are still made to believe that ‘Bollywood is insecure’!
This ‘Bollywood is insecure’ gang also argues that there’s silence among peers and that they have not even tweeted or posted about Dhurandhar’s success. Firstly, several prominent names praised the film. Secondly, let’s not forget that 4 ½ months before the release of Dhurandhar’s first part, Saiyaara’s blockbuster business also led to an uncomfortable scenario. Many aspiring actors, including star kids, sighed and wondered why they didn't get such a reception at the box office for their film.
Even then, a section of the industry was silent, and nobody batted an eyelid. Did Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan or Hrithik Roshan tweet about Saiyaara? Then, no one made an issue out of it. After all, a star kid achieving success by acting in a Yash Raj venture doesn’t fit the narrative of the trolls and they chose to ignore it. Also, the silence of the celebs doesn’t always mean they are unhappy or upset with the business.
Just recently, we learned that Shah Rukh Khan praised Saiyaara and its ‘no promotion’ strategy. This proves that a lot of feedback is exchanged privately. A celeb need not shout from the rooftops how much he has loved a contemporary’s film. The appreciation by SRK shows that jealousy is not the only emotion. Many are overjoyed when a Hindi film sets new milestones. Whenever a film does such business, that industry gets a huge boost. It raises confidence and motivates people to give their best. And that’s precisely what’s happening right now in the Hindi film industry as well. For obvious reasons, it will not be talked about by trolls and in blind items.
To conclude, yes, a section of Bollywood is insecure. But that is neither shocking nor unique. Insecurity is a deeply human response, and it surfaces in every film industry whenever a movie rewrites the rules. Dhurandhar is not the first film to trigger that discomfort, and it certainly won’t be the last. Every film industry, every star system and every creative ecosystem grows restless when one success becomes so massive that it makes others look ordinary. The real mischief lies in how this reaction is spun into an agenda-driven narrative. The same forces that earlier thrived on ‘South vs Bollywood’ are now feeding on ‘Bollywood vs Bollywood’. In reality, Dhurandhar’s triumph should be the biggest reason for Hindi cinema to celebrate. At a time when many were convinced Bollywood had lost its edge, a Hindi film has delivered a record-shattering statement that may remain untouched for years. That is not an embarrassment for the industry. It's an achievement.
Also Read: Ameesha Patel slams Zakir Khan’s ‘Jealous Bollywood’ claim: ‘SRK, Salman, Sunny have given 25+ hits’
More Pages: Dhurandhar The Revenge Box Office Collection , Dhurandhar The Revenge Movie Review
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