Maddock Horror Comedy Universe

The Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) is an Indian shared universe consisting of Hindi-language supernatural comedy horror films created and produced by Maddock Films. All films in this universe are based on Indian folklore.

The first installment, Stree, was released as a standalone film. The universe-building began with Bhediya, in which characters from Stree appeared. This was followed by Munjya, where characters from Bhediya and Stree appeared. Stree 2 continued by featuring characters from Bhediya. Thamma features cameos from Bhediya, Stree, Munjya, and Stree 2, making Thamma the central link connecting all five films.

The universe was initially titled the Maddock Supernatural Universe, before the official MHCU lineup reveal in January 2025. This change in title was further confirmed with a logo reveal in September 2025, and also by Dinesh Vijan during a Thamma team Interview in October 2025.

The idea for a shared universe occurred to Dinesh Vijan from a conversation with American film producer Charles Roven in 2012, when Roven told him, "when you're making films, keep them in a box".

Abhishek Banerjee is the only actor to have appeared in every film in the universe (as "Jana"), and has been likened to Nick Fury from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the "connective thread" across the films.

Roohi, being promoted as a standalone sequel to Stree before its release, was initially planned as an entry in the Maddock Supernatural Universe (MSU) but was removed from the official canon due to negative critical reviews and its overall failure to contribute to the franchise's world-building efforts; Roohi featured no such contributions to the broader narrative. The primary creative conflict stemmed from Rajkummar Rao playing entirely different characters in Roohi and Stree, which complicated shared-universe continuity, alongside the fact that the film was directed by Hardik Mehta, not series architect Amar Kaushik, who did not consider it part of his specific vision. Kaushik cited as a reason for its exclusion "unless I feel that a double role is needed for Raj". While no longer canon, it was included as an easter egg in a background TV scene in Munjya, establishing the film itself as a fictional movie within the MHCU timeline rather than a factual event.

Stree: Mard Ko Dard Hoga, the first installment of the franchise is directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Raj & DK. It stars Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee. The plot is inspired by the Karnataka urban legend of Nale Ba, which means "come tomorrow" in Kannada, adapted in the film as "O Stree Kal Aana" (oh woman, come tomorrow) in the film. Stree was theatrically released worldwide on 31 August 2018 and received positive reviews. The film grossed over ₹180 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹23–25 crore, becoming a box-office success. The film received ten nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards and won Best Debut Director for Kaushik.

Bhediya: Jungle Mein Kaand, the second installment was directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. The film stars Varun Dhawan alongside Kriti Sanon, Abhishek Banerjee, Deepak Dobriyal and Paalin Kabak. The plot is inspired by an Arunachal Pradesh legend about a shape-shifting werewolf 'Yapum' who kills to protect the jungle. Additionally, characters from Stree appeared in the film, including cameo appearances by Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Aparshakti Khurana. Abhishek Banerjee reprises his role as Jana (Janardan), Bhaskar's cousin. Bhediya was theatrically released on 25 November 2022, garnering positive reviews. The film grossed about ₹109 crore against a production budget of approximately ₹60 crore at the box office. It received 13 nominations at the 68th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actor (Critics) and Best Special Effects.