In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Life, Thamma director Aditya Sarpotdar opened up on various aspects of Ayushmann Khurrana’s film. Scroll down to know what he said.
Thamma is a 2025 Hindi romantic comedy horror film directed by Aditya Sarpotdar. It is written by Niren Bhatt, Suresh Mathew and Arun Falara and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik. Thamma is the fifth instalment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe. It stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Paresh Rawal, among others. The film follows a journalist who, after encountering a mysterious woman, Taraka (portrayed by Rashmika Mandanna), turns into a vampiric creature called Betaal and must save humanity from the bloodlust of an ancient evil. Thamma is doing really well at the box office. The film crossed the Rs 100 crore mark on its eighth day. Thamma is already the third-highest earner in its franchise after Stree 2 (Rs 597 crore) and Stree (Rs 129 crore).
In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Life, Thamma director Aditya Sarpotdar opened up on various aspects of the movie- from its story plot to its box office success.
What was your reaction to Thamma’s box office success?
“So, see, we are already on our sixth day, and we are, I would call it, this is still the beginning. So far, it’s been great. We are now, we’ve crossed 100 crores today. And for us, it’s a big benchmark milestone that we’ve kind of been able to achieve. And it’s all because I feel we have, it’s been great that we’ve been able to get hold of some genuine fans of the universe. Made me through Stree, made me through that whole goodwill that the first three created. And going from there onwards, every film that’s come into this universe has got so much love from people. Thamma is just a by-product of that same love that people have and that intent that people have always been asking for, you know, what next, what next. So, Thama, in a certain sense, was a film that bridged this whole universe, going from where it came from and where it’s headed towards. And to see people really liking it so much and going to the theaters to watch it, just made this Diwali very special. And now I feel going forward, when we are on our sixth day, we’ll also see week two coming ahead and maybe our second weekend also. So, I just hope it grows bigger and better.”
What sparked the story of Thamma for you?
“See, Thamma is a very intriguing story because it is about Betaals. Betaal is my way of kind of saying that we also had our version of vampires, which are Indian vampires. And they are very, you know, they are folklore, mythical. But also, we’ve kind of, I’ve grown watching Bikram Betal Ka Betal. He’s got a certain quirk to himself. And they were very witty, but very, very knowledgeable. They were Chiranjeevis. And basically, that’s why we’ve called Thama with a connection to Ashwathama, where they never die. So, for me, it was a complete new entity I was kind of working around. This was a story that Amar and, who’s the producer of the film, and Suresh and Arun, these are the three of them, got together during the pandemic and started working on. I was always fascinated by vampires. And Amar knew this. So, while I was finishing my previous film Munja, he asked me whether I was interested to direct this film.
And when it came to me, it was quite developed in its core idea. But I found a lot of potential in being able to tell a really cool different story. And this film is one of its kind, a love story in this universe. So, for me, it was a great balance between romance, comedy, and horror. And also, while we do all three, we were kind of making a statement about the universe on the whole also. So, if you’ve seen the film, you’ll have realized that, you know, this film connects the universe a little more streamlined. It’s a better connection into moving ahead into the next few films. So, fun film to do, yeah. And why would I not do it?”
When asked about Nora Fatehi’s appearance in both Stree and Thamma, the director said, “Definitely, now she was, right? Because if you are seeing Thaama, and you see, there’s a dialogue that Ayushman looks at and says, isko kahin toh dekha hai. And we have another character who says, ki yeh toh hi toh hai Chanderi ki Rani. Now, Chanderi ka connection is definitely your stree connection. And she jumps and shows her fangs. So, if she’s a vampire here, she definitely was a vampire there also. Which maybe you never knew of. But it’s a very interesting connection. And now, when you see Varun, when you see how Jana, all of them were talking about vampires, even in the end credits scene of 3-2, there is a scene where they say, you know, talk about vampires, ki Delhi mein koi khun chusne wala hai. So, there is this obvious connection that has been seen in the films. And going ahead, you never know where all what connects.”
What was the most challenging scene that you have shot in Thamma?
“Actually, the challenge was to do these two big set pieces of action, which is the Bhediya sequence, where Ayushman, who is the Betal, fights Varun, who is the Bhediya. It was a very VFX-heavy sequence. And these two big actors were coming together and clashing. And there’s a lot of hype about it that we knew that people would really look forward to watching this, the werewolf and the vampire clash. So, for me, it was a very special moment, building it up to the film and then delivering it in the way it’s executed. So, it was challenging. And we had a lot of fun doing it because we had two massive spots. As an actor, you need two good actors to kind of really be on ground, getting physically there, you know. And action needs that. So, Varun and Ayushman did a fantastic job of it. And when Varun turns into a werewolf, Ayushman was doing the acting itself, kind of imagining him. Because we had a 3D character right there. So, I think in the whole film, that was the most challenging part.”
How do you keep your storytelling fresh and relatable to today’s time?
“See, relatability comes through characterisation. I feel our characters make it relatable. Like Ayushman’s character, who’s the regular Delhi boy, you know, who’s aspirational, who’s quirky, who’s very innocent and honest. He brings a certain kind of believability to the film. In a film where you have these crazy, outwardly betaals, you have… And every film you see, you will find this set of humans in all of these movies that make the film believable. Like in Munja, you had Abhay’s character, Sharwari’s character, the grandmother, all (6:59) of those.
In this film, you have Pareshji, you have Geetaji, and you have Ayushman, who are humans. In Stree, you had the whole gang, you know, they were all humans. So, it’s the human element that makes it very identifiable. Because then you think, what if I were there? And what if this happened to me? So, that is what makes these films grounded and relatable. And I feel every film that we make here has a certain even storytelling, which is very rooted. Folklore-ish, mythical, which somehow makes these films very Indian also. So, I think these two, three elements are very important in all these movies. And that is why these movies feel like they are Indian horror comedies. They feel like they are very relatable comedy films that can happen anywhere around us.”
How will you describe Thamma in three words?
“I would describe it as a complete family entertainer. And that is what the film was supposed to be. And I would definitely add a fourth word, a complete Diwali family entertainer. Because now Diwali is near, we are moving off from Diwali. But it’s a film that anybody in the family, kids, grown-ups, grandparents, anybody and everybody can go and watch. So, that’s how, for me, Thaama is.”
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