Rani Mukerji is back as the no-nonsense cop Shivani Shivaji Roy. Mardaani 3, the third installment in Yash Raj Films’ acclaimed female-led franchise, released in cinemas on January 30, 2026, and has since made its way to Netflix for audiences who missed the theatrical run. Directed by Abhiraj Minawala and produced by Aditya Chopra, the Hindi-language action thriller picks up the legacy of one of Bollywood’s most celebrated crime drama series and brings a darker, more unsettling chapter to the screen.

About Mardaani 3

Yash Raj Films officially announced the project on 13 December 2024, with Rani Mukerji confirmed to reprise her role as Shivani Shivaji Roy. Abhiraj Minawala was roped in to direct the film, replacing Gopi Puthran, the writer and director of Mardaani 2.

The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of 93 young girls, aged between eight and ten, over a span of three months. As Shivani begins her investigation, she uncovers a horrifying nexus involving a beggar mafia and an illegal medical operation.

Mallika Prasad was cast as the antagonist, becoming the first female villain in the franchise. Janki Bodiwala was cast in a pivotal role. Principal photography began in March 2025 and concluded in November 2025. Filming took place primarily in Delhi and Mumbai, with additional scenes shot in Haryana, Noida, Pondicherry, and Colombo.

The script was written by Aayush Gupta, fresh off the international success of Netflix’s “The Railway Men.” The music was composed by Sarthak Kalyani, with cinematography by Artur Żurawski.

“Mardaani” stands as Hindi cinema’s most successful solo female-led franchise, earning both commercial success and critical acclaim over its decade-long run.

Mardaani 3 Review & Rating

Mardaani 3 drew a range of responses from critics, with most acknowledging the strength of its lead performance even when divided on the film’s script and second-half execution.

Bollywood Hungama – 3.5/5: A critic from Bollywood Hungama described the film as a powerful, intense, and hard-hitting thriller that stays true to the soul of the franchise, highlighting Mukerji’s performance, the direction, screenplay, and background score — while criticising the twists in the second half. (Source: bollywoodhungama.com)

NDTV – 3.5/5: Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised Rani Mukerji’s performance as a power-packed, unblemished star turn that should rank among the finest of her 30-year acting career. (Source: ndtv.com)

The Indian Express – 2/5: Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express felt that Rani Mukerji could not do much with the degree of over-writing and predictable plot-points in the film. (Source: indianexpress.com)

Times of India – 3.5/5: Dhaval Roy of The Times of India wrote that while Mardaani 3 isn’t without flaws, it still holds as a solid franchise outing anchored by Rani Mukerji’s performance. (Source: timesofindia.com)

Firstpost – 4/5: Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost praised the performances of both Rani Mukerji and Mallika Prasad. (Source: firstpost.com)

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 10 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. On IMDB, the film holds a user rating of 7.5/10.

Mardaani 3 Box Office Collection

According to reports, Mardaani 3 was made with a budget of ₹60 crore. Overall, Mardaani 3 collected ₹78.73 crore at the worldwide box office. In India, it collected ₹52.99 crore net (₹64.7 crore gross), and in overseas markets it grossed ₹14.03 crore.

Despite almost a 50-day-long run in India and competition from Border 2, O’Romeo, and other releases, the film could only recover 88% of its total investment, concluding its domestic journey with a deficit of around ₹7 crore.

That said, Mardaani 3 has successfully surpassed the collections of the original film in the franchise. While the first Mardaani (2014) concluded with an India Net of ₹35.65 crore and a worldwide gross of ₹59.30 crore, Mardaani 3 outperformed it by earning ₹50.78 crore Net in India and reaching a worldwide gross of ₹75.10 crore making it the highest-grossing entry in the franchise.

Mardaani 3 OTT Release

After its theatrical run, Mardaani 3 arrived on OTT platform Netflix on March 27, 2026. Following the widely adopted eight-week theatrical-to-digital window, the film transitioned to OTT after its release in cinemas on January 30, 2026.

Key Highlights

• Franchise record: Mardaani 3 became the highest-grossing film in the entire Mardaani franchise, surpassing both its predecessors.
• First female villain: Mallika Prasad was cast as the antagonist, becoming the first female villain in the franchise.
• Rani Mukerji’s performance: Multiple critics singled out her portrayal of SSP Shivani Shivaji Roy as among the best of her career.
• Grittier direction: Abhiraj Minawala brings a grittier, more procedural tone to the franchise, with storytelling that leans heavily into realism.
• Socially relevant theme: The film tackles child trafficking and illegal medical operations, making it one of the most socially pointed entries in the series.

Now on Netflix: Available globally from March 27, 2026, making it accessible to a much wider audience beyond its theatrical reach.

Takeaway

Mardaani 3 arrives as a competent, if uneven, addition to one of Hindi cinema’s most consistent franchises. Rani Mukerji’s commanding screen presence remains the film’s greatest asset, and Mallika Prasad’s turn as the first female villain in the series adds a fresh dynamic to the franchise formula. While critics were divided on the script’s execution particularly in the second half most agreed that the film delivers on its core promise: a gripping crime thriller rooted in real social concerns.

With a worldwide box office gross of approximately ₹77 crore, the Mardaani 3 box office collection makes it the highest-earning film in the franchise, though it narrowly fell short of recovering its ₹60 crore production budget theatrically. Now streaming on Netflix, the film is poised to find a significantly larger audience beyond its cinematic run. For fans of the Mardaani series, female-led Indian crime dramas, and socially conscious thrillers, it remains a worthwhile watch.

Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar: The Revenge opened in cinemas across India and worldwide on March 19, 2026, arriving on the triple festive occasion of Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, and Eid al-Fitr. The Hindi spy action-thriller serves as the concluding chapter of the Dhurandhar duology, a two-part espionage saga that Dhar shot back-to-back with Ranveer Singh in the lead role. As the film continues its strong theatrical run, a growing number of viewers are looking ahead to its digital release.

Here is a complete breakdown of everything known so far from the OTT platform and expected streaming date to box office figures, cast details, and critical reviews.

About the Film

Dhurandhar: The Revenge picks up directly from the events of the first film, released in December 2025. The story follows Jaskirat Singh Rangi, who operates under the alias Hamza Ali Mazari, as he goes deeper into Karachi’s criminal underworld. Embedded within a terror network targeting India, he assumes the identity of a powerful crime figure while simultaneously working to dismantle the operation from within. As his double life grows increasingly dangerous, he must navigate betrayal, psychological strain, and a final reckoning with the forces behind the 26/11 attacks.

The film’s narrative draws loosely from several real geopolitical events in South Asia, including Operation Lyari, the 2014 Indian general election, and the 2016 demonetisation. Both parts of the duology were shot together between July 2024 and October 2025, primarily across Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Bangkok, Thailand. Additional photography for the second part extended into early 2026.

The film was certified A (Adults Only) by the Central Board of Film Certification due to its intense violence, with a final runtime of 229 minutes for Indian screenings. International prints ran slightly longer, at approximately 235 minutes. Music was composed by Shashwat Sachdev, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil and Kumaar. The soundtrack was distributed by T-Series.

OTT Release: Platform and Expected Date

After its theatrical run, Dhurandhar: The Revenge will stream exclusively on JioHotstar, a shift from the first film, which was available on Netflix. JioHotstar acquired the digital rights for a reported ₹150 crore, nearly double the ₹85 crore paid for the original film’s streaming rights.

No official OTT premiere date has been announced as of March 25, 2026. However, given the standard 45-to-60-day theatrical window followed by major Bollywood productions, the digital release is broadly anticipated sometime between late May and the second week of June 2026. Some industry sources have pointed to May 22 as a possible date, though this remains unconfirmed.

Given the film’s exceptional box office performance in its opening week, the makers may extend the theatrical run before committing to an OTT launch. Fans who want to watch both films digitally will now need subscriptions to two different platforms Netflix for the first part and JioHotstar for the sequel.

Note: The television premiere, once the OTT window concludes, is expected on Star Gold.

Box Office Performance

Dhurandhar: The Revenge has set several records since its release:

• Day 0 (Paid Previews, March 18): ₹43 crore
• Day 1 (Opening Day, March 19): ₹102.55 crore, the highest ever for a Hindi-language film
• Day 2 (March 20): ₹80.72 crore
• Day 3 (March 21): ₹113 crore
• Day 4 (March 22): ₹114.85 crore
• Day 5 (March 23): ₹65 crore, setting the record for the largest non-holiday Monday collection in Hindi cinema history at ₹60 crore (Hindi only)

The film’s five-day cumulative domestic net collection stood at approximately ₹519 crore, with a worldwide gross of around ₹844 crore including overseas earnings of ₹225 crore.

Globally, the film grossed approximately $82 million (₹761 crore) in its opening weekend across all territories, the highest-ever opening for a Hindi-language film worldwide. In North America, it collected $14 million over five days, surpassing the previous Bollywood record held by Pathaan. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the film debuted at number two in the overall chart with approximately $2.8 million in its opening weekend.

The sequel benefited from a clear solo release after its potential competition, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups starring Yash, was pushed to June 2026.

Critical Reception

Reviews have been broadly positive, with near-unanimous praise for Ranveer Singh’s central performance. Some critics raised reservations about the film’s political framing and its extended runtime.

Hindustan Times: 4/5 – The review described the film as a thriller that might not possess the same precision as its predecessor, but credited Ranveer Singh’s commanding screen presence and a gripping second half for carrying the experience.

123telugu.com: 3.75/5 – The publication praised director Aditya Dhar for elevating the franchise to a new standard, calling Ranveer Singh’s work one of the most memorable performances in recent Indian cinema and noting strong contributions from Arjun Rampal.

Bollywood Hungama: 4.5/5 – The review concluded that the film justifies the enormous expectations built up by its predecessor, describing it as a lengthy but consistently engaging watch, and hailing Ranveer Singh’s portrayal as possibly the finest of his career.

GreatAndhra: 3.5/5 – The review acknowledged a slow opening stretch and the challenge of sustaining audience attention across a nearly four-hour runtime, but noted that the film finds its rhythm from the second chapter onward and delivers considerable patriotic fervour.

The Telegraph (India) – A more critical appraisal, noting that the sequel amplifies the first film’s tendencies toward graphic content and political messaging, while lacking some of the storytelling finesse of the original.

The Independent (UK) – The review reflected a divided critical response, observing that the film functions effectively as an immersive patriotic thriller for many audiences while raising questions for others about the line between dramatised history and nationalist narrative.

IMDb User Rating: 8.6/10 – (based on approximately 13,000 early user votes, subject to change)

The film was also notably banned in several Gulf Cooperation Council countries, following a similar restriction imposed on the first instalment.

Key Highlights

• Record-breaking opening weekend: ₹761 crore worldwide in five days, the highest-ever for a Hindi-language film globally
• Ranveer Singh’s acclaimed performance: widely considered among the best of his career by multiple reviewers
• Major OTT platform shift: from Netflix (Part 1) to JioHotstar (Part 2), with a ₹150 crore streaming deal
• Nearly four-hour runtime: one of the longest mainstream Hindi films ever released theatrically
• Strong North American debut: $14 million in five days, breaking Bollywood’s previous North American record set by Pathaan
• Banned in GCC countries: following a similar restriction on the first instalment
• Dual language requirement for digital viewers: Netflix for Part 1, JioHotstar for Part 2
• Inspired by real events: storyline draws from Operation Lyari, the 2016 demonetisation, and other documented geopolitical episodes
• Music highlight: features a remix of the 2003 Bombay Rockers track “Aari Aari” and an original track by Jasmine Sandlas

Takeaway

Dhurandhar: The Revenge has delivered one of the strongest theatrical performances in Indian cinema history, completing Aditya Dhar’s two-part spy narrative on a large and commercially formidable scale. Critical reception has been positive overall, with Ranveer Singh’s performance receiving particular recognition, though the film’s ambitious runtime and political content have drawn varying responses from reviewers and audiences alike.

For viewers who caught the first film on Netflix, the shift to JioHotstar for the sequel marks a notable change in how to follow the franchise digitally. The OTT release expected sometime between late May and June 2026, pending official confirmation, will make both parts of the duology accessible to home audiences across India and internationally. Until then, the film continues its theatrical run across multiple languages and geographies.

Article written as of March 25, 2026. OTT release date and box office figures are subject to change. Readers are advised to check the official JioHotstar platform for confirmed streaming announcements.