No role is too small. Who knows that better than Triptii Dimri, her brief part in Animal (2023) having changed her career overnight? The blockbuster’s success brought her many things, including a wider audience and the ‘national crush’ label. Last month, Karan Johar announced his next production, Bad Newz, starring Vicky Kaushal, Dimri and Ammy Virk. While the posters released in March showed Dimri sporting a baby bump, mid-day has now learnt that director Anand Tiwari’s comedy revolves around the rare medical condition, heteropaternal superfecundation.

A source tells us that like director Raj Mehta’s Good Newwz (2019), its spiritual sequel too has pregnancy as the central conflict. “While Good Newwz was about accidental sperm swap, Bad Newz is based on a medical condition called heteropaternal superfecundation, where a woman gets pregnant with twins from different men. The film is based on a true incident,” the source says.

In the comedy, the actor will be seen romancing both Kaushal and Virk. More importantly, her character marks a stark departure from her submissive role in Animal. It’s also her first light-hearted part after back-to-back intense portrayals of an ill-fated lover in Laila Majnu (2018), a woman seeking revenge in Bulbbul (2020), and a singer battling depression in Qala (2022).

“Triptii will be seen as a mainstream leading lady for the first time. Like Dharma heroines, she plays today’s woman, an ambitious chef, who can go to any lengths to further her career,” adds the source. 

It’s evident that Dimri is consciously steering towards mainstream cinema this year. The actor has the horror comedy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 with Kartik Aaryan, and Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video opposite Rajkummar Rao in the pipeline. That, however, doesn’t mean she has bid adieu to intense stories. The actor, along with Siddhant Chaturvedi, will front Johar’s yet-untitled romantic drama, helmed by Shazia Iqbal. From what we hear, it’s a profound love story set against the backdrop of the caste system.

“The film is a remake of the Tamil hit, Pariyerum Perumal [2018]. It is currently in post-production. The makers are contemplating titling it Dhadak 2, as a spiritual sequel to Janhvi Kapoor-Ishaan Khatter’s Dhadak [2018], which explored class difference.”