No one was willing to fund ‘Stree’, it turned out to be top Hindi film: Producer Dinesh Vijan

Producer Dinesh Vijan is thrilled about the “unbelievable” success that his films like “Stree” and “Chhaava” have achieved and says it has motivated him to narrate “daring” stories.

The producer has backed via his banner Maddock Films movies like “Cocktail”, “Badlapur”, “Hindi Medium”, “Stree”, “Luka Chuppi” and “Chhaava”, among others.

“The last three years have been just unbelievable for us. The number one Hindi film was ‘Stree’, who would have imagined it. When we made the first ‘Stree’, no one was funding me, so I had to make it on my own,” he said, adding that the reluctance was because of the movie’s title, which “others said will not work”.

“Then came ‘Chhaava’, which became number two. So, I don’t think we can ask for more. They’ve given us the flexibility to be more daring, therefore, an ‘Ikkis’, or ‘Mahavatar’,” Vijan told PTI in a media interaction Friday evening.

The 2018 film “Stree”, is based on the urban legend of “Nale Ba” that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s. Starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead, the horror-comedy was directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Vijan and Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.

The film’s sequel, made in 2024, turned out to be one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed movies, earning over Rs 500 crore nett at the domestic box office.

Vijan said he attempts to bring out stories that highlight the culture and people of India, like his banner’s upcoming film, “Mahavatar”, featuring Vicky Kaushal as Chiranjeevi Parashurama, the eternal warrior of dharma.

“It’s very important to tell stories so that our culture is not forgotten. So, we need to tell the world who Arun Khetarpal is or who Bhagwan Parashuram (referring to ‘Mahavatar’) is, like we needed to tell there was Shivaji, but there was a son who was a Chhaava,” Vijan said.

“We’re a little more daring now. But at the scale that we’re doing it is a little larger. Also, it’s the right time to do so, because we want to go to the theatre to experience a little more. Technically, ‘Ikkis’ is a world-class film,” he added.

Directed by Sriram Raghavan, “Ikkis” is based on the life of the youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient, Arun Khetarpal. It stars Agastya Nanda, Jaideep Ahlawat, late Dharmendra, Sikander Kher, and Simar Bhatia.

The 44-year-old producer said he is hoping audiences will warm up to the movie, which is set to release theatrically on January 1, 2026.

“The result is going to come, whether we like it or not; nobody can predict that in this business. A lot of people say they have the formula, you have the secret sauce formula…I say, the day you think you have it, it’s gone.

So, the only thing I believe in is that our intentions are very clear; we make a movie for the story, and we might lose money. But we never lose value. To me, value is more important than money.”

The criteria to produce a film, Vijan said, is for the story to strike a chord with him.

“For instance, ‘Ikkis’ is a story I wanted to make for a very, very long time. For me, being unique is very important. I don’t like repeating films or the kind of movies we make. Like, ‘Ikkis’ is unique because it talks about the futility of war. It talks from a family’s perspective,” he said.

Referring to the film’s director Raghavan, as a crazy storyteller, Vijan said he had a great experience working with him.

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“The way he interlinks the story is amazing. Like, when you watch it, you will realise it. He is a master storyteller, like very few filmmakers can start a film at a certain level and take it notches up there, make you go through the journey and he’s one of them,” he said, calling “Ikkis” the director’s “most emotional film.”

Vijan claims he, along with the team and a few industry people, has already watched “Ikkis” and believes it’s one of his “best” movies.

“I showed the film to (composer) Pritam and once it was over he was putting his head down and I was like, ‘You didn’t like the film?’, but he said he was so moved by it, and so was Mukesh Khetarpal, who’s the brother of Arun Khetarpal, and for us, that validation was very important,” he added.