**Amar Kaushik’s *Stree 2* (2024) Becomes Highest Bollywood Grosser of All Time**
Amar Kaushik’s *Stree 2* (2024) has emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. Despite this monumental success, the director remains humble and down-to-earth, much like when his debut directorial *Stree* surprised everyone to become a super-hit. The horror-comedy universe that began with the 2018 hit has now evolved to new heights.
The recently released *Thamma*, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Rashmika Mandanna, is the latest addition to this universe. The film has been warmly accepted by the audience, as reflected in the impressive first two-day box office figures.
In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Amar Kaushik shared insights about producing *Thamma*, connecting characters within the universe, and much more.
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### Exclusive: Amar Kaushik on Universe Building, Easter Eggs & Censor Cuts
**Bollywood Hungama:** Let’s start with your energetic, dancing cameo in the song ‘Poison Baby’! You always have such cameos, even in your earlier films.
**Amar Kaushik:** (Laughs) It all started with the first *Stree* film. I have this habit of enacting scenes for the actors, suggesting, “Mere jaisa nahin karna hai, but something along these lines.” For the beggar scene, it was Rajkummar Rao’s suggestion that I act. He told me, “Tu hi yeh role karega!” During the ‘Kamariya’ song shoot, we were in high spirits, and I decided to just jump in. It was fun, and since *Stree* was a hit, everyone insisted I keep doing cameos. That’s how I appeared in *Bala* (2019), *Bhediya* (2022), *Stree 2*, and now in *Thamma*.
In *Stree*, I appear twice — as a beggar and dancing in ‘Kamariya’. Actually, I appeared thrice! I am also the person sitting next to Rajkummar and Shraddha in the auto rickshaw scene. That happened because I had no follow-up car to watch the monitor from, so I sat behind. My face was visible by chance, and the shot was approved.
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### Feedback for *Thamma* and Universe Connectivity
**Bollywood Hungama:** Coming to *Thamma*, how has the feedback been?
**Amar Kaushik:** It’s been great. The world of our universe is slowly getting connected. That was our goal — ensuring characters from different films bump into each other. The audience is loving it. During my show, there was a fantastic reaction when Janardhan aka JD (Abhishek Banerjee) appeared on screen; nobody expected him since the trailer only showed Elvis Karim Prabhakar (Sathyaraj). Ideally, I wouldn’t have shown Sathyaraj either, but we had to tease the audience a bit.
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### Trusting Aditya Sarpotdar to Direct *Thamma*
**Bollywood Hungama:** What gave you and Dinesh Vijan the confidence to have Aditya Sarpotdar helm *Thamma*? Was it his work on *Munjya*?
**Amar Kaushik:** Yes, exactly. We liked how Aditya executed *Munjya*. I shared the *Thamma* idea with him, and he loved it. I can’t direct every film myself; each director brings a unique touch. The characters belong to me, so I know how they react even when directed by someone else. Aditya understood this universe well. He’s sharp, cool-headed, and a nice person. These qualities motivated us to trust him, and he did a fantastic job.
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### Production Partnership: Amar Kaushik & Dinesh Vijan
**Bollywood Hungama:** How do you and Dinesh Vijan divide production responsibilities?
**Amar Kaushik:** Dinoo is my bouncing board. I share all my ideas with him, even the “atrangi” ones. For example, I told him that *Bhediya* should be bigger this time and discussed scaling up twists in the story. He replies, “You take the call if it fits the universe.” He’s like “Dada ji,” and I’m “Pitaji” (laughs) — it feels like a family, with everyone fulfilling their roles.
I also keep track that there have been four films already and many more to come. So, we insert ‘breadcrumbs’. I tell Aditya, “Add this, or make that character say this dialogue— it will matter later.” We have a roadmap of where the story is headed but sometimes realize we missed points that we try to include next time. It’s like solving a puzzle.
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### Casting *Thamma*
**Bollywood Hungama:** Tell us about the casting process.
**Amar Kaushik:** Ayushmann Khurrana and I have been discussing this story since the Covid times, when I was initially going to direct it. I narrated the story to him at his home; even his daughter enjoyed it, and I said, “She’s my audience!” So Ayushmann was part of this from the start. The story evolved after *Stree 2*, with more elements added.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui was my choice for Yakshasan because although the character is a villain, he need not be traditionally scary. I wanted someone who can induce fear in a subtle way. I assured Nawazuddin that though his screen time in *Thamma* is limited, his character will have more importance in future installments, which convinced him immediately.
Paresh Rawal also came on board instantly. After watching *Stree 2*, he called me, praising the universe we created and expressing interest in being part of it. Since *Stree 2* was a direct sequel requiring the same characters, we couldn’t include him there, but I promised a role soon. Twenty days later, I narrated the script for *Thamma*, and he loved it. Rashmika Mandanna was cast because she fit the part perfectly.
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### Signature Humor and Song Moments
**Bollywood Hungama:** I couldn’t stop laughing when Nawazuddin’s character sings ‘Panchhi Banoon’. This seems like an Amar Kaushik trademark!
**Amar Kaushik:** (Laughs) Yes! The ‘O Huzoor’ bit in *Bhediya* also did very well. Jokes like Paresh calling Ayushmann “Ayushmann Bhava” and Nawazuddin joking “Kya Betaal banega re tu” got great laughs.
Niren Bhatt, the writer, and I enjoy this style of humor — giving fun, twisted meanings to songs and dialogues. Some say meme culture is creeping into films, but memes are a big part of life now. They help connect with today’s youth and make the film relevant.
In fact, 20 years from now, when people watch *Thamma* or *Stree*, they’ll say, “That meme was popular then!” While the films carry bigger messages—like *Thamma*’s idea that Betaals have stopped consuming human blood because “Insaano ke khoon mein zeher aa gaya hai”—the entertaining jokes keep the audience engaged.
Choosing which song to joke about can be challenging. For example, many on the team felt the ‘O Huzoor’ joke wouldn’t work, but I insisted silently, and it worked brilliantly!
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### On Censor Board Cuts and Dialogue Changes
**Bollywood Hungama:** Does censorship ever dishearten you? For example, the dialogue in which Yakshasan says, “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azaadi doonga” had to be changed due to CBFC.
**Amar Kaushik:** No, I understand their responsibility. They explained that the phrase was originally by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for a greater cause, and using it differently might be inappropriate. I found their reason valid and agreed to tweak the dialogue.
Changing it to “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aiyaashi karata hoon” actually brought more laughter. Sometimes these changes open new creative avenues!
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*Thamma* is adding exciting new layers to Amar Kaushik’s horror-comedy universe, showing how a connected world within Bollywood films can captivate audiences while balancing humor, entertainment, and thoughtful themes.
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**Also Read:**
– [Thamma Box Office Collection]
– [Thamma Movie Review]
– [Bollywood News Live Updates]
https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/exclusive-linking-stree-thamma-planting-secret-easter-eggs-pitaji-mhcu-amar-kaushik-delivers-masterclass-universe-building-breaks-silence-censor-cuts-main-tumhe-azaadi-doo/