Director, who faced massive betrayals in Bollywood, made Rs 1200 cr by doing two films in 6 years; refuses to accept spotlight

Talking about his delayed debut, he shared, “I was supposed to mark my debut in 2013 first and attempted again in 2016, but it could be possible only in 2019.” One of the biggest reasons for the delay, according to him, was betrayal.

He revealed, “I have been betrayed a lot of times. People have stolen my scripts and ended up making Rs 100 crore films from the same scripts. I gave up so many times when I met Robin Bhatt and Priyadarshan who motivated me and saw something in me. My older brother too supported me.”

Uri released in 2019. (Photo: IMDb)

How Uri changed his life

Despite the support, projects kept falling apart. “A lot of times my films were shelved just 15 days before the shoot day,” he recalled. Then came Uri: The Surgical Strike, the film that changed his life overnight. The 2019 blockbuster earned Rs 358 crore worldwide and also transformed actor Vicky Kaushal’s career. Interestingly, Dhar called Uri an accident.

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Aditya Dhar was making a Dharma film with Fawad Khan

He explained, “I was making a film called Raat Baki in 2016. It starred Katrina Kaif and Fawad Khan in the lead roles with Dharma producing the film. In the same year, the news of URI attack came and people started to throw stones at Dharma office which forced Karan Johar to declare that he won’t work with Pakistani actors.”

Uri introduced him to wife Yami Gautam

He added, “Then the news of surgical strike surfaced which inspired me to make a new film. Did a lot of research, interviewed a lot of people, all my savings went into this. It took me 6 months to do the research when I heard someone else is doing the film. I locked myself in my room and wrote the screenplay in 12 days.” The film eventually found backing and moved quickly after Ronnie Screwvala read the script during a flight and approved it. Uri also brought Dhar personal happiness, as he met his future wife, actor Yami Gautam, on the film. The two got married in 2021.

Aditya Dhar and Yami Gautam tied the knot in 2021. (Photo: Aditya Dhar Films/Instagram)

Dhurandhar success

Later, Aditya Dhar and his brother launched B62 Studios, which produced films like Article 370 and Baramulla. While Article 370 was made on a budget of Rs 20 crore and earned Rs 105 crore worldwide, Baramulla released on Netflix to mixed reviews. The banner’s latest production, Dhurandhar, has shattered multiple box office records, with its second part scheduled for release on March 19. The film has crossed Rs 800 crore mark worldwide and will soon surpass the lifetime collection of Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1 to become the highest grossing Indian film of 2025.

According to Financial Express, Aditya Dhar and Yami Gautam together boast a net worth of over Rs 100 crore. Dhar reportedly charges Rs 8–10 crore per film. The couple own a luxury home in Bandra, a duplex in Chandigarh, and a family house in Himachal Pradesh. They also possess high-end cars including a BMW, an Audi Q7, and an Audi A4—marking a journey from repeated setbacks to remarkable success.