IN A DARK ALLEY IN CHANDERI, A YOUNG MAN IS LOST IN A sing-like-nobody's-listening, messed-up rendition of Nigerian singer Rema and Selena Gomez's hit track 'Calm Down'. He is waiting for his friend who seconds earlier has finished humming the lullaby 'Soft Chitti, Warm Chitti' (a nod to 'Soft Kitty' from The Big Bang Theory) to his girlfriend. Soon, a gross, ginormous headless monster, called what else but Sarkata, enters a room, hides his decapitated head under the bed and then abducts Chitti. As the audience rides this rollercoaster of laughs and scares, Stree 2 has casually strode on to become the second highest-grossing Hindi film of all time in India, projected to eclipse the Rs 554 crore Jawan. Made on less than half the budget of the Shah Rukh Khan-starring action-heavy spectacle, a riot of a cast, one-liners that keep coming feverishly and a subtle 'smash the patriarchy' messaging have seen the horror comedy mint Rs 530 crore already.
Stree 2 isn't even this year's first horror comedy success. Munjya, minus any discernible star and fronted by a VFX-created child monster, led the way in June, surprising all by earning over Rs 100 crore. Come November 1, you will have Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, the third part of one of the first horcoms. Expect it to open big, 2022's BB2 having collected Rs 180 crore. Safe, then, to say that 2024 is the year of the horror comedy.
Denne historien er fra September 23, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra September 23, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Delhi's Belly
Academic, historian and one of India's most-loved food writers, PUSHPESH PANT'S latest book-From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi-delves deep into the capital's culinary heritage
IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
Hemant and Kalpana Soren changed Jharkhand's political game, converting near-collapse into an extraordinary comeback
THE MAHA BONDING
At one time, Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar were seen as an unwieldy trio with mutually subversive intent. A bumper assembly poll harvest inverts that
THE LION PRINCE
A spectacular assembly election win ended a long political winter for Kashmir and his party, the National Conference. But Omar Abdullah now faces crucial tests—that of meeting great expectations and holding his own with the Centre till J&K gets its statehood back
TRIAL BY FIRE
Formal charges in a US court, an air marked by accusations of bribery and concealment of information, the attendant political backlash, pressure on stock prices, valuation losses. Yet the famed Adani growth appetite and business resilience stays
'Criticism has always been a source of motivation for me'
It’s just day five since he was crowned 2024 FIDE World Chess champion (which he celebrated with a bungee jump), and Gukesh Dommaraju is still learning to adjust to the fanfare.
THE YOUNG GRANDMASTERS
GUKESH DOMMARAJU IS NOW THE YOUNGEST EVER WORLD CHAMPION, BUT THAT IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE IN INDIA'S CHESS STORY. FOR THE 'GOLDEN GENERATION', 2024 WAS THE YEAR THEY DID IT ALL
SHOOTING QUEEN
Manu Bhaker scripted a classic turnaround at Paris 2024, putting the ghosts of the past behind her through sheer willpower to engrave her own destiny
THE COMEBACK KING
It was in no one's script: Naidu's standing leap from near-oblivion, to a place where he writes the destiny of Andhra—even New Delhi
HALTING THE BJP JUGGERNAUT
A roller-coaster year saw the Opposition coalition rebound with bold moves and policy wins, but internal rifts continue to test its durability
