Welcome to the MHCU!
Stree 2 is the next big release from Bollywood and the next chapter of Maddock’s Horror Comedy Universe. The MHCU features a total of three movies as of now – Stree, Bhediya and Munjya (Roohi is not a part of the MHCU). This universe is widely appreciated because of it’s uniqueness and for being deeply rooted to our Indian culture bringing in stories based on lores from different parts of the country.
Here is a quick recap of the previous movies of the MHCU. Right from their premises and lore to the connections within each other- we have got you covered!
1.STREE
The Premise:
Written by the duo of Raj & DK and directed by Amar Kaushik, Stree came in as a never seen before treat for the audience which loved horror as well as comedy. The premise revolved around Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and his friends Janna (Abhishek Banerjee) and Bittu (Aparshakti Khurrana) trying to unravel the mystery behind abductions of men during an annual four day festival along-with the mysterious character of Shraddha Kapoor and Rudra (Pankaj Tripathi).
The movie ended at a cliffhanger wherein it is revealed that Shraddha Kapoor is not Stree but some other witch who wanted the powers of Stree because of unknown reasons. The last scene of the movie showcased the wordings, O Stree Raksha Karna, along-with a statue of Stree indicating that the people in the village of Chanderi now worship her. Interestingly, Rajkummar Rao revealed that Stree 2 will begin exactly from that particular scene.
Folklore:
The lore of Stree was inspired by the real life legend of Naale Baa across Karnataka. As shown in the movie, people in real life wrote the words, Naale Baa, on their walls . It was written in order to prevent the entry of the vengeful spirit into their homes. The concept was extremely unique which resonated with the audience and the film turned out to be a superhit at the box office.
Connections & Easter Eggs:
During the first night of the annual festival, Janna and Bittu are seen walking down the road where they encounter Rudra who reminds them about Stree and guides them with steps to follow if they cross paths with her. After Rudra leaves and Bittu and Janna continue to walk, they hear a certain noise from the woods. After looking carefully, they see the bright eyes of a wolf-like animal in the darkness. They get terrified and decide to run away. This creature was supposed to be an easter egg for the upcoming movie in the MHCU titled Bhediya.
Additionally, Kriti Sanon gave a cameo appearance in the song, Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe, which comes during the end credits.
Box Office:
Made on a budget of ₹25-30 Cr, Stree opened at ₹6.82 Cr which made it Rajkummar Rao’s highest opener (later surpassed by Mr and Mrs. Mahi). The movie collected a total India nett collection of ₹129.83 Cr and a worldwide gross of ₹182 Cr which made it Rajkummar Rao’s highest and Shraddha Kapoor’s third highest grosser ever.
2. BHEDIYA
The Premise:
Following Stree, the next instalment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe was Bhediya which was again directed by Amar Kaushik. The writers of Stree, Raj & DK, opted out of working with Maddock Films due to a rift with producer Dinesh Vijan. Due to this, Bhediya was written by Niren Bhatt.
The premise of Bhediya revolved around Bhaskar (Varun Dhawan), a road construction contractor who travels to Arunachal Pradesh along-with his cousin JD (Abhishek Banerjee) where he is joined by a local friend Jomin (Paalin Kabak) to build a highway in the middle of a forest. In a strange turn of events, he gets bitten by a wolf in the forest and he himself gets transformed into a shape-shifting wolf.
The movie also developed a love angle between Bhaskar and Anika (Kriti Sanon) where it is revealed that the wolf that bit Bhaskar was actually Anika who was the little girl shown in the beginning of the movie. The movie ends with the supposed death of Anika after she falls off a cliff in her wolf form. Bhediya featured visual effects of supreme quality coupled with a great blend of fantasy and comedy and great songs.
The post-credit scene featured the entire cast of Stree directly connecting the two movies. More on that in the Connection/Easter Egg section.
Folklore:
The plot of Bhediya is inspired by the real life phenomenon of Arunachal Pradesh called Yapum. Yapum is believed to be a shape-shifting werewolf residing in the woods of Arunachal Pradesh who wants to protect his home – the jungle.
Connections & Easter Eggs:
When Bhaskar, JD and Jomin enter the house where they would be residing in for the entirety of their stay in Arunachal Pradesh, they encounter a bat inside their house. This can very well be an easter egg for the upcoming movie of the MHCU featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandhanna. The movie is rumoured to be titled either Thama or Vampires of Vijay Nagar.
Now coming to the direct connection with Stree, the post-credit scene of Bhediya brought back the gang of Stree (Vicky and Bittu) where they reveal that the cousin of Bhaskar, JD is actually Janna from Stree, who was forced to leave town and prepare of IAS exam, because he was getting seizures after he was captured by Stree. Vicky and Bittu then tell Janna that Stree is back and the town of Chanderi needs them.
Moreover, Shraddha Kapoor also gave a cameo appearance in the song Thumkeshwari. It was a promo song but the cameo made the audience remind of the universe and excited them even more.
Box Office:
The fate of Bhediya at the box office was unfortunately not as great as Stree. Despite being a solid entertainer, it suffered due to the rage of Drishyam 2 at that time. Later, it got the appreciation it deserved when it came on ott.
Bhediya was made on a budget of ₹60 Cr with superb visual effects, the movie managed to open at ₹7.48 Cr, and ended it’s run at an India Nett Collection of just ₹68.99 Cr, and a Worldwide Gross figure of ₹94.91 Cr. The movie was declared Below Average at the box office.
3. MUNJYA
The Premise:
Munjya was the first movie in the MHCU which was not directed by Amar Kaushik. This time, Marathi director Aditya Sarpotdar was at the helm of affairs. The plot revolved around Munjya, a spirit of a young Brahmin boy Gotya which haunts a peepal tree in Konkan. Munjya’s wish was to marry Munni which remained unfulfilled. Decades letter when Bittu (Abhay Verma) visits the peepal tree in Konkan he becomes possessed by Munjya, as he was family. What follows is a story of him trying to fight Munjya and save the love of his life Bela (Sharvari) with the help of an exorcist called Elvis Karim Prabhakar (Sathyaraj).
The movie concludes with Bittu burning the tree which Munjya used to haunt ‘supposedly’ leading to the end of the spirit. Reason behind use of the word ‘supposedly’ in the easter eggs/connections section.
Folklore:
The lore of Munjya comes from Maharashtra and the coast of Konkan where it is believed that Munjya is a spirit of a boy who dies after the upanayana ceremony and before getting married. This spirit resides particularly in peepal trees and is considered to be extremely restless.
Connections & Easter Eggs:
In the end of the movie, the tree where Munjya resides was burnt down which made us believe that it had been freed. However, during the end credits, it is shown that the tree did not burn completely and its vast trunk was still left intact. Some contractors cut down the trunk into small wooden longs and transported them to a far off place.
In the post credit scene we get to see Janna and Bhaskar from Bhediya in a forest. Janna gives his underwear and pant to Bhaskar to put on after he had transformed from Bhediya to human. The underwear had the word Munni printed on it. On reading, Bhaskar sarcastically says, “Munni ki chaddi pehenta hai, Munni ki”, to Janna. Right after Bhaskar says the word Munni, we get a glimpse of Munjya viciously smiling and saying “Munni.” This indicates that Munjya’s spirit is still attached to the wood of the tree and now he can travel far off places, where ever the wood is taken.
Box Office:
Munjya was a huge surprise at the box office. The movie was released silently with minimal pre-release promotions and yet went on to become a huge success. Maddock’s team did a great post-release promotion though, which was a big reason for the success.
Made on a budget of just ₹25-30 Cr the movie opened to ₹4 Cr at the box office which was a surprising number in itself. What followed was not at all expected by anyone. The movie amassed a total of ₹101.6 Cr India Nett Collection and a Worldwide Gross of ₹125 Cr which took the entire industry and trade by surprise. The movie was declared Super-Hit at the box office.
This was the entire recap of the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, making you all set for the best experience of Stree 2.
What Happened With Roohi?
Roohi was a disaster at the box office. It suffered due to the post-pandemic effect majorly but the film itself did not receive positive response from the audience. Soon both Maddock and media stopped taking Roohi’s name altogether, whenever they spoke about Bhediya, Munjya or Stree 2.
It was still believed by some that one day, somehow somewhere in the future, they will connect Roohi to the Universe. But even the last bit of hope drowned during Munjya, where the characters inside the film were watching Roohi on TV. So Roohi is a film in MHCU and the characters are not real.
In Steee 2 trailer as well, they mentioned Stree, Bhediya and Munjya as a Universe but not Roohi.
Next In The Universe
The next project in line for the MHCU has also been confirmed by Dinesh Vijan. It will be titled Thama and will most likely be the Ayushmann Khurrana – Rashmika Mandanna project. Moreover, there are also rumours lurking around a cameo of a superstar known for his expertise in comedy in the movie which will set up his standalone movie in this universe! To add to your excitement, Rajkummar Rao, in an interviews has confirmed a total of four cameos in Stree 2.
Stree 2 has genuine excitement and hype among the masses which is reflected by it’s advance booking numbers ensuring that Stree 2 will become the biggest opener of 2024.
Stree 2 hits the screens 14th August 9 pm onwards!
Also check out: Khel Khel Mein – A Guinness World Record of Highest Remakes In The World
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Author(s): Kshamik Vadecha | Ishan Jain
