“We Refused To Buy The Album”: Saregama MD Vikram Mehra On Dhurandhar 2 Deal

Saregama India managing director Vikram Mehra said the company consciously decided against acquiring the music rights for the sequel to blockbuster Hindi film Dhurandhar, citing concerns around steep pricing and long-term returns.

Speaking during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Mehra revealed that despite industry expectations and the success of the original film, whose music rights were owned by Saregama , the company chose to stay away from the sequel’s album deal.

“After the massive success of Dhurandhar 1, it was very tempting for us as a company to also go for Dhurandhar 2 music,” Mehra said, adding that Saregama’s acquisition team resisted pressure to pursue the rights because the valuation did not align with the company’s financial benchmarks.

According to Mehra, Saregama evaluates music acquisitions through a strict commercial lens, targeting a five-year payback period rather than making decisions driven by “vanity” or market hype surrounding major film franchises.

The comments come at a time when competition for premium Bollywood music rights has intensified, fuelled by growing demand from streaming and digital entertainment platforms.

During FY26, Saregama invested nearly Rs 235 crore in acquiring new music content, while another Rs 105 crore was allocated towards inorganic acquisitions of small and mid-sized music catalogues.

In the January–March quarter, the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group-owned company also completed its strategic investment in Bhansali Productions by acquiring an initial 28% stake for Rs 325 crore.

Mehra said the partnership is expected to give Saregama access to premium Hindi film music at more predictable costs through a pre-agreed commercial framework. He added that the collaboration would help secure the company’s pipeline of A and B+ category Hindi film albums over the next two to three years, reducing its dependence on competitive market bidding.

Going forward, Saregama expects nearly 30% of its new Hindi film music catalogue to originate from Bhansali Productions.

For FY25, Bhansali Productions reported revenue of Rs 304 crore, EBITDA of Rs 60 crore and profit after tax of Rs 45 crore.