Dinesh Vijan says producers refused to fund Stree due to its title: 'They said it won't work, now it's the biggest hit'

Dinesh Vijan, producer of Stree, says nobody in Bollywood was willing to fund his film due to its title.

Maddock Films has emerged as one of the pre-eminent Bollywood production houses in the last few years, largely due to the success of its horror comedy universe, one of India’s only successful cinematic universes. It all began for Maddock with Stree, the 2018 sleeper hit. Producer Dinesh Vijan has now revealed that he decided to bankroll the film himself because nobody else was willing to come on board.

Dinesh Vijan talks about Stree

Stree featured an ensemble cast led by Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor.

In an interview with PTI, the Maddock Films head talked about their recent run of good and successful films. “The last three years have been just unbelievable for us. The number one Hindi film was Stree 2, 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 would not work".

Stree, made on a budget of just ₹25 crore, grossed ₹180 crore worldwide, and spawned a sequel - Stree 2 - which made over ₹875 crore, including a record ₹601 crore in India alone. Maddock’s recent release Chhaava was also a blockbuster, earning over ₹800 crore worldwide.

Ikkis, a war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, 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 film is set to release theatrically on January 1, 2026, having been postponed from its original release date of December 25.