‘Rungta Steel, Show Me Your Finances!’: Internet Crashes After SRK, Ranbir Kapoor, and Alia Bhatt Unleash Their 1-Minute Mega-Budget Ad

The Eastern India powerhouse Rungta Steel, proved yesterday that its marketing budget is just as indestructible. The steel giant launched its latest 1-minute TV commercial (TVC) starring Bollywood’s most powerful trio: Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Alia Bhatt, and immediately sent social media into an astronomical tailspin.

The high-octane 60-second ad—directed by a top filmmaker Siddharth Anand—features the two male superstars in a dramatic, yet hilarious, showdown, only to be stopped in their tracks by the leading lady. While the on-screen antics were certainly entertaining, the real buzz was focused solely on the jaw-dropping costs involved in bringing such a massive cinematic short to life.

Fans quickly turned the commercial’s seemingly limitless expenditure into the latest viral meme. Comments flooding platforms ranged from the impressed, such as, “Production quality better than most movies,” to the utterly astonished, including demands like: “Wth is the budget for these ads?” and “Rungta steel, show me your finances!” One user quipped simply, “That’s steel money.”

The campaign’s history only fuels the budget speculation. Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt first signed on as brand ambassadors in 2022, with Shah Rukh Khan joining the starry roster a year later in September 2023. This latest ad is believed to be the sixth installment in their high-concept series, cementing Rungta Steel’s commitment to making the most expensive and talked-about minute of television in the country.