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Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, or the MHCU, began after the release of Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao starrer Stree. Soon, films like Munjya, Bhediya, Stree 2 and Thamma joined the ‘universe’. As fans gear up to see what’s next, Dinesh Vijan has explained the idea behind the MHCU and even revealed why Stree 3 won’t get a 2026 release. Dinesh Vijan told the Hindustan Times, “Someone very wise told me that when you’re making films, keep them in a box. It was a gentleman called Chuck Roven who produces all of Christopher Nolan’s films; he’s done most of them. And he told Deepika (Padukone) and me this in 2012, and it stayed with me. So when Stree happened, I understood. There should be an ability to meet. Don’t change the physics if you want some people to meet. That’s how the idea of the universe came.” The producer shared, “They (Munjya and Stree) are completely different worlds. The family conflict… So we are very conscious not to repeat. That is why we’re not bringing Stree 3 next year, you know, which most people would want to do, right? Even us. It just makes more sense to come. There’s a journey to it. So we are trying to… the way I look at it is, I’m from a joint family. We love a big family atmosphere. So, the universe is a family and it’s got different kinds of characters. No one’s similar.” Dinesh Vijan explained, “So when you watch Thamma, you’ll realise it’s nothing like Munjya. Even the family drama, if you look at it, the father-son conflict here is very different to the father-son conflict in Stree. So as long as you don’t try and repeat the same equations — Stree is three bunch of friends, the other is a brother, a cousin and him who happen to be from Stree, go into a forest (Bhediya), Munjya is like I like this girl but even Munjya likes this girl, what’s going to happen, it’s a triangle.” He said, “So if you look at it, it should be connected, but it should not be similar, and you are conscious about it. So that’s what we’re trying to do. But because, so what happens is when you have a big family, you have a lot of family politics. And you are really interested while having chai ki isne kya kiya. So that’s what the universe is.” “And I really feel that more in Delhi right now, because I spoke to a few people yesterday and I was so happy to see that actually they have their own theories (about the universe), of what’s going to happen. Like, what is Stree’s relationship with Munjya and what’s going to happen? We are also conscious of it, and we have a team evolving it. So I think because we love a big fat family, that’s why the universe. Being conscious that every character is special in its own right, and not one size fits all,” the producer concluded. After Thamma, the MHCU roster includes Shakti Shalini, Bhediya 2, Stree 3, Chamunda, Maha Munjya, Pehla Mahayudh and Doosara Mahayudh.
