The Hindi film industry loves a small-town adventure, and these films have a pan-India connection. Entwined with the ground reality and issues that they face on a day-to-day basis, Maddock Films, helmed by Dinesh Vijan, has found its niche in bringing such stories to life, albeit, highlighting the women characters, placing them in front. Be it Mimi, where Pankaj Tripathi and Kriti Sanon are awarded National Awards for their parts to the commerical, theatrical of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Maddock has definitely made some noteworthy choices. 

Their latest out Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video (earlier titled Happy Teachers Day), is based in Pune,
a social-thriller attributed to teacher Radhika Madan (Sajini), whose video, from her regular, after duty hours goes viral. Nimrat Kaur is the officer cracking the case of a 'dead/missing' Sajini, in a film that highlights the ideals the teachers are supposed to live up to in the society and its repercussions. 

In the past, Maddock has woven the small town story template x strong women characters with much expertise, and commercial/award success. Here are a few:

Luka Chuppi
Set in Mathura, it is Rashmi (Kriti Sanon) who persuades her boyfriend ‘Guddu’ (Kartik Aaryan) to stay together to know each other better before marriage. Mind you, she also happens to be the daughter of a politician who wants a ban on live-in relationships. But this doesn't deter Rashmi from making the choice!

Bala
Set in Kanpur, Bala is the story of Balmukund Shukla aka Ayushmann Khuranna who wears a wig to woo Pari (Yami Gautam) into marriage. Pari is obsessed with vanity and has no shame in leaving Bala as she finds out about his receding hairline. Then there is Bhumi Pednekar, the dark-skinned girl, who has been bullied all her life due to lack of vanity! Bala shows the mirror to the ugly and beautiful, from the lens of a small town.

Stree
A small town, Chanderi, is being haunted by a chudail who appears on the four nights of an annual puja. However,  she preys only on men, who simply disappear leaving their clothes behind. Vicky aka Rajkummar Rao falls in love with Shraddha Kapoor, the chudail, without knowing her identity, and what follows is a social-comedy with the right amount of thrills. 

Roohi
Riding high on feminist supernatural genre was Janhvi Kapoor's Roohi, based in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh where bridal abductions are real. The film highlights the horrifying practise, its effect on women's mental health and how patriarchy is the real horror/ghost in their lives. 

Mimi
Kriti Sanon has received the (joint) Best Actress National Award for her performance in a film which shows the reality of a surrogacy practise in the country, this time, Rajasthan being the centre focus. In order to fulfil her dreams of being an actress, a 25-year-old Mimi (Kriti) agrees to lend her womb for money but over the course of time, embraces motherhood when the surrogate parents never turn up.  

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke
Based in Indore, Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan's film explores the desire of a newly married young middle-class couple to break away from their joint family to have their own home. Seeking privacy and companionship in a full-house becomes unbearable so on Sara's (Saumya) insistence, the couple embark on a journey of fake divorce to get a house via a govt scheme.