How Raveena Tandon’s husband Anil Thadani made Pushpa pan-India hit; was behind Baahubali, KGF, Kalki 2898 AD’s success FilmyMeet

The trailer of Allu Arjun’s upcoming film Pushpa 2: The Rule was launched in Patna amid much fanfare on Sunday evening. The grand event saw the attendance of Arjun and his co-star Rashmika Mandanna, both of whom graced the stage. The film’s producers also got on to the stage at one point, as did one other man – who neither directed nor produced the film but has been instrumental in making it a pan-India phenomenon. That is film distributor Anil Thadani, who also happens to be actor Raveena Tandon’s husband. (Also read: Inside Raveena Tandon’s fam-jam with husband Anil Thadani, their extended family)

Anil Thadani’s Pushpa 2 connect

Anil Thadani was specially called onto the stage at the Pushpa 2 trailer launch event and asked to say a few words. A reclusive man usually, Thadani spoke about how Pushpa 2 is a nationwide phenomenon and predicted that Allu Arjun’s stardom will make it a blockbuster. Thadani’s AA Films is distributing and presenting Pushpa 2 in the Hindi market, just like it had done for the first part back in 2021. Pushpa: The Rise had become a pan-India phenomenon on the back of its Hindi collections. The film earned ₹136 crore in Telugu and an additional ₹106 crore in the dubbed Hindi version. Its business in north India – particularly Delhi, UP, and Bihar, made it a pan-India hit. And it was Thadani’s company that distributed and presented the film in these markets.

How Anil Thadani helped films become pan-India hits

Thadani has been associated with film distribution for over three decades, starting his journey with Yeh Dillagi in 1994. In 2015, he also began presenting the dubbed versions of South films in Hindi, starting with SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning. Since then, he has presented and distributed some of the biggest pan-India blockbusters in the north, including the two Baahubali films, KGF 1 and 2, and Kalki 2898 AD. All these films saw the bulk of their box office collections in Hindi, which made them blockbusters. During this time, a few of the films presented by Thadani have also failed at the box office, notably Adipurush and Devara. However, despite this, many down south see him and AA Films as the first choice for their films in the Hindi belt.

Anil Thadani and Raveena Tandon

Anil Thadani and Raveena Tandon began dating while filming the 2003 film Stumped. They announced their engagement in November 2003 and tied the knot on February 22, 2004, in Udaipur. The couple has two children—daughter Rasha and son Ranbirvardhan. Rasha Thadani, 19, will be making her acting debut soon with Abhishek Kapoor’s Azaad.