Indian production house Maddock Films, led by Dinesh Vijan, has delivered a series of successful genre films in 2024, including the breakout horror-comedy “Munjya” and the franchise continuation “Stree 2.”
The studio began the year with hit sci-fi rom-com “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya,” where Kriti Sanon plays SIFRA (Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation), with whom robotics engineer Aryan (Shahid Kapoor) falls in love. SIFRA eventually develops sentient feelings. This was followed by the horror-comedy “Munjya,” where a young man’s visit to his native village unveils a family secret and a vengeful spirit, the Munjya, who wants to get married. The film performed even better at the box office, crossing the INR100 crore ($12 million) mark without major star power.
“‘Munjya’ is our biggest victory because it clearly states that without any face value, you can do a film that does 100 crores,” Vijan told Variety. “It sets up the universe very strongly because now we have three very diverse characters, all from different parts of India.”
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The success of “Stree 2” – where after the events of “Stree” (2018), women in the town of Chanderi are mysteriously abducted by a terrifying headless being – further validated the studio’s franchise strategy. “Once there is some sort of investment in a franchise and people love it, they really do pay you with a lot of love when you come again and you live up to the hype,” Vijan said.
Maddock’s approach to universe-building involves careful integration of standalone stories into a larger narrative. “The film on its own has to land, and that landing gives it an entry into some sort of universe,” Vijan explained. “A true universe is having its own battles and ultimately being part of the bigger war.”
The studio has expanded beyond horror-comedy into other genres. Their thriller “Sector 36,” which Vijan admits is “completely unlike” their usual fare, has found success on Netflix. In the film, a police officer faces off against a serial killer as children go missing in a slum. “‘Sector 36’ is that film which clearly states that, with the data that is available on Netflix… if you do films in its pure sense, there is an audience for it,” he noted. Whodunnit “Murder Mubarak,” with an all-star cast, was another Netflix hit for Maddock.
Looking toward expansion, Vijan underlined the importance of distribution strategy. “Content is king, but distribution is God,” he said, adding that with advancing technology and AI potentially reducing production costs, the studio aims to be “screen agnostic.”
Maddock is also exploring theatrical windows and distribution models. “I think we need to be on multiple platforms with multiple user bases,” Vijan said, suggesting future possibilities where audiences might have more flexibility in how they consume content.
The studio has maintained focus on original storytelling throughout 2024. “2024 was a few interesting risks, but I think they didn’t feel like risks, because I believe that there were stories that in one line were clutter breaking,” Vijan said, adding that the company’s mantra over the last five years is to be “unique.”
“The fact that a lot of our films have no reference point is what’s made us,” Vijan said. “I don’t think it’s go big or go home. It’s go unique or go home.”