It's known to all that Dinesh Vijan is building his own on-screen universe of horror comedies that are set in Indian folktales. The producer kicked it off with Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee's 2018 sleeper hit, Stree, and followed that with Janhvi Kapoor's Roohi. Varun Dhawan's recent monster comedy, Bhediya, was the latest addition to that universe. Maddock Films was supposed to follow Bhediya with Munjha and Ayushmann Khurrana and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s vampire film before getting back to Stree’s world for its sequel. However, the plan and priorities have changed in the past few months, and Dinesh Vijan is now starting Stree 2 before any other film in the proposed cinematic universe.
Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that Stree 2 has been prioritised to get on floors first, contrary to what was planned earlier. "Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik, who are the masterminds behind this horror-comedy cinematic universe, are constantly working towards offering the viewers a never-seen-before world with their upcoming quirky movies that are interconnected with each other. Their aim is to build a one-of-a-kind crossover domain of movies that tickle your funny bones while tackling different themes. They are long committed to this project and have planned to present the future characters in a certain way, and it’s for this reason Stree 2 has been given priority over the other two movies," a source close to the development told us, adding that Kaushik has begun pre-production for Stree 2 and will start shooting in March 2023.
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The source has further clarified that Munjha and the Ayushmann-Samantha film are definitely in the works but will happen only after Stree 2. Moreover, Munjha, contrary to our previous reports, is neither a prequel to Stree nor does it star Shraddha Kapoor in the lead. It’s a separate film with a different lead cast, with its plot connected to Stree. Marathi filmmaker Aditya Sarpotdar will direct this film, which will also get off the ground in the next two to three months. The Ayushmann Khurrana and Samantha starrer, meanwhile, is still in the scripting stage and will happen only in the second half of 2023. "The makers have a multi-year plan for this Horror-Comedy Cinematic Universe. Their aim is to first introduce different characters through multiple standalone films, establish them with their sequels, and then bring all of them together for a crossover. They are deliberately keeping several threads open in every movie to get to that point," the source further added, citing an example of Bhediya’s climax, which introduced Rajkummar Rao and Aparshakti Khurana’s characters from Stree.
Stay tuned to Peepingmoon for more information on this exciting universe of quirky horrors!
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