Bollywood is stirred after Yami Gautam called out what she describes as the industry’s growing “paid hype” culture. Amid internet chatter about cancellations of her husband Aditya Dhar's directorial 'Dhurandhar' pre-screenings, Yami revealed her views on paid reviews.
For many viewers, her comment hit instantly, because it reflected what audiences long suspect. The glowing reviewer quotes, the coordinated influencer posts, and the sudden waves of positivity surrounding a film's release often feel too polished to be purely organic. But the debate isn’t as simple as “everything is paid” or “everything is honest.”
Yami took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: "This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ for a film is created or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay ‘them’ money feels nothing but kind of extortion."
There is something iv been wanting to express since really long, I feel today is that day & I must .
— Yami Gautam Dhar (@yamigautam) December 4, 2025
This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good ‘hype’ for a film is created or else ‘they’ will continuously write negative things…
Bollywood runs on visibility, momentum, and buzz. With the dozens of films and OTT releases each month, marketing isn't just helpful, it's essential. Paid promotional reviews, influencer tie-ups, and strategic coverage are an industrial fact. Reports over the years have reflected that paid promotional packages run the gamut from a few thousand rupees to several lakhs for full-fledged campaigns. There is nothing indirect about this; this is how the business keeps chugging along.
So, Yami isn't wrong: paid reviews exist. Timed positivity, curated narratives, and even negative reviews when the payment deals fall apart: all part of the machinery. The audience has felt it for years, and she simply made the conversation louder.
The tricky part is that smaller influencers, local reviewers, and independent critics often don't operate within these expensive circles of promotion. More often than not, their opinions come from genuine excitement, disappointment, know-how of the industry, or personal taste, as opposed to any transactional exchange. Yet in the current climate, any positive or negative reaction is promptly labeled as "sponsored," "fake," or "paid."
This encourages a knee-jerk skepticism that has an unintended consequence: it drowns out honest voices, often the very voices with which audiences rely on for authenticity. The minute someone heralds a film as great, or calls it disappointing, accusations follow. Does this make the ecosystem murkier for everyone?
Hype culture is a real thing. Those paid reviews do exist. But natural, unpaid reactions still frame discourse. Online creators still influence what the masses watch. The average audience member still expresses real love or irritation. The problem is that trust has become fragile. Viewers can never fully know if they're consuming actual excitement or a precisely planned promotional strategy.
Is hype culture a symptom of impossible competition and commercial pressure? Or have we, as audiences, become so suspicious that we do not believe genuine voices anymore? Either way, Yami's comment has revived a discussion Bollywood will struggle to sidestep anymore.
