It was on Monday of the release week that Dhak Dhak’s trailer was unveiled. The promotions were minimal, followed by a limited release on October 13. The Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi-starrer released only in Mumbai and Bengaluru, in about 300 screens. Now, the film seems to be finding its way to people. In the past week, Tarun Dudeja’s directorial venture has been released in over 14 cities, including Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. Producer Pranjal Khandhdiya of Outsiders Films attributes the development to the audience demand, following the film’s positive word-of-mouth.

He says, “The best way to judge a film’s success is when strangers start tagging you on social media, asking for theatre and show timing details. Dhak Dhak enjoyed great reviews on Friday, and by that evening, the word-of-mouth was strong.”

It led distributors and exhibitors to assign screens in more cities. Now, the all-woman film is reportedly running in over 500 theatres. He adds, “More screens have been added across India. For a film which was planned as a limited release, the audience demand [ensured] that it had a good run in theatres across key cities.”

Dhak Dhak tells the story of four women bikers who ride to Khardung La, discovering themselves and each other during the trip. Industry sources suggested that the drama wasn’t actively promoted as the studio backing it had already secured a profit through its OTT rights. The unexpected turn of events, however, is being relished by the film’s cast.

Sanghi says, “Dhak Dhak was attempting to do something that hadn’t been done before. It always felt honest. To see that honesty spread its wings and touch the audiences has been one of the most reassuring journeys. This is hopefully the boost our fraternity needs to back authentic stories with nuanced characters.”