Showing posts with label Mahendra Dhariwal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mahendra Dhariwal. Show all posts
Sunny Leone in Mahendra Dhariwal’s horror comedy, Chudail
10:17 AM
Paresh B Mehta (MID-DAY; August 14, 2026)
The upcoming horror-comedy film Chudail is gearing up to terrify and entertain audiences with a unique blend of music, rivalry and supernatural elements. With Sunny Leone in the titular role, and Mandana Karimi playing her adversary, the film’s cast also includes Southern star comedian Brahmanandam, Sunil Verma (the antagonist in Pushpa), Rahul Dev and Dev Gill.
Produced by Mahendra Dhariwal along with Rocky Sandhu (it is his landmark 50th film) and Paramveer Sandhu and directed by T L V Prasad, Chudail marks a grand return to the supernatural genre for its lead star cast.
“My 1997 film of the same name was a super-duper hit, so we renamed ‘Lucky’ to ‘Chudail,’. Further with horror films trending nowadays, the release is perfectly timed,” Dhariwal justified the reason for change in title.
Rivalry and Royal Hauntings of this Horror-Comedy
“The core plot of Chudail revolves around an intense professional conflict. Both Sunny Leone and Mandana Karimi portray singers in the film who are fierce and uncompromising competitors,” reveals Dhariwal adding that the conflict is pushed to its limits.
To capture the eerie, larger-than-life atmosphere required for a supernatural thriller, he emphasizes, “The film has a Royal Backdrop in Uttar Pradesh and Haveli setting as it is almost entirely shot in a colossal, authentic royal palace in Bulandshahr.”
“This horror-comedy features a total of five distinct songs meticulously woven into the narrative. The absolute highlight of the soundtrack is a specific, bone-chilling recurring ‘haunted song’. Instead of playing just once, this signature track is strategically split across the narrative,” Dhariwal mentioned.
Revealing that Zee Music Company has acquired the music rights, he said, “While the recurring haunted anthem brings the chills, the remaining four tracks are designed as soft, soaring romantic songs to balance out the horror.”
The highly anticipated horror-comedy Chudail is currently on track for a grand theatrical release by September-end.
Riding the Horror Wave
The decision to release the film by late September is highly strategic. Recognizing a major shift in audience preferences, the producer notes, “It is the trend of horror films nowadays, and hence its timely release.”
Mahendra Dhariwal’s ambitious upcoming ventures
Looking beyond the horror genre, Mahendra Dhariwal along with Rocky Sandhu and Paramveer Sandhu is mounting the most ambitious project of his career, titled Mahadev Ki Mahima.
“Setting a new benchmark for Indian cinema, this mythological venture will be driven by advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology with big artist dubbing that is visualized on a grand scale with a staggering budget of Rs. 150 Crores,” he conveyed.
Adding to his high-octane lineup, Dhariwal also confirmed that ‘Maa Tujhhe Salaam 2’ is in the pipeline, “Following the massive action-patriotic legacy of the original 2002 hit, this sequel is being designed to bring high-stakes drama back to the silver screen.”
Sunny Leone to play a vengeful spirit haunting men in horror-comedy Chudail
9:52 AM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; August 11, 2026)
Imagine Sunny Leone haunting you as a ghost. Does the idea scare you? Well, that’s what writer and director T L V Prasad is going for with his horror comedy, Chudail, which sees Leone in the titular role. The actor recently wrapped up filming in Uttar Pradesh.
So, what’s Chudail all about? Also starring Rahul Dev and Mandana Karimi, the horror comedy is along the lines of the blockbuster Stree, which subverted the idea of evil female spirits. It sees Leone and Karimi in conflict with each other, while Dev portrays a priest who drives the spirit away.
A source shared, “Set in North India, Chudail sees Sunny as a spirit haunting the streets of Bulandshahr and luring men. But her character isn’t an all-black witch. As the story progresses, it’s revealed that she faced grave injustice in her lifetime and that sparked her need for vengeance in the afterlife. Extensive VFX has been used in the movie to showcase Sunny’s transformation from a beautiful woman to a spirit with glowing eyes and reversed feet.”
For Mahendra Dhariwal, Chudail is a significant project as it marks his 50th movie as a producer. He is planning its release on a grand scale, as he told mid-day, “It’s designed as a pan-India movie, shot in Hindi and dubbed in other languages [Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu]. We shot the film in a haveli in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. Sunny’s Ragini MMS 2 [2014], where she played a possessed woman, was a big hit, and now she is returning as a chudail in the horror comedy. It’s also a musical. We are planning a theatrical release in September-end.”
Mandana Karimi alleges harassment on film set; producer calls her behaviour unprofessional
8:06 AM
The actress says Mahendra Dhariwal and his son ill-treated her, while the producer accuses her of hampering film shoot
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; November 22, 2020)
A night before Diwali, Mandana Karimi says she got a rude shock on the set of her forthcoming film, Koka Kola. It was her last day of the shoot which went awry towards the last hours, when the film’s producer, Mahendra Dhariwal, allegedly misbehaved with her on the set of the film in Mumbai.
Mandana told BT, “I am still in shock about what happened and how it happened. Koka Kola is a film that we have been working on for over a year now, and it’s been one of those jobs that you do despite knowing that the team is not being very professional. We all end up doing a few such jobs to just keep ourselves afloat. From the beginning, I had problems with this crew. The producer (Mahendra Dhariwal) is an old-school man who turns the set into a man-dominated, egoistic place. There are places where projects are driven by one person’s ego. That’s not new, but what happened on November 13 has shaken me up. It was the last day of my shoot and I wanted to wrap up and get going. I had another meeting lined up. On the last two days of the shoot, I had come in early and clocked in the hours, though the shoot wasn’t all about me. A little before wrap-up, the producer asked me for an hour more on the set, which I told him I can’t do as I have a meeting lined up. He said okay, and I went back on set to finish my last few takes. We were shooting for a song. But the moment I left the set and went to my vanity van to change, he forcefully came inside and started shouting, ‘You can’t leave. I asked you to do an extra hour and you have to listen because I am the producer and I have paid you.’ This set had no director or assistants. There was a choreographer, a stylist and the producer was calling the shots, literally. It’s the strangest job I have done in my nine years in India. He started creating a scene on the set along with his son and calling me names. It’s unsettling how they have behaved with me as an artiste and as a woman.”
Mandana adds, “He started saying, ‘Humne paise diye hain, lekin tumko kaam nahi karna hai, paise bhi poore chahiye, blackmail karti hai.’ After my last take, I went to my vanity van and told my spot boy to not let anyone in while I was changing my clothes. I thought the door was locked, but it wasn’t. In a few seconds, the producer came inside, since I was changing, I requested him to wait outside, but he refused and continued screaming. Luckily, the stylist (Hitendra Kapopara) ran into the vanity and pulled him out before things became uglier.”
The actress continues, “I am a single woman, I don’t have family here or a godfather, not even a manager or a PR person. I am trying to make a living on my own. I still can’t understand what really happened. A lot happens on a set, but this was absolute misbehaviour. People have called me and asked me who this shady guy is and why I am working with him. I have to support myself, there is no one else to help me with that. The last few months have been really tough. This behaviour amounts to mental harassment... being shouted at like that in front of so many people, being called names, being asked what visa am I working on, and telling me that I have no work and no one will work with me. In the last two months, the producer has messaged me several times, asking for dates. I was busy with two other projects. He and his son are not trustworthy people, and I wanted the full payment before I resumed work. I am here on an employment visa and I have paid my taxes. I have worked hard with dignity. I love India, and it’s been my home. People know me and have shown support, knowing how professional I am, but imagine being new and not having anyone to back you.”
Mandana says she was not allowed to use the production vehicle that was allocated to her.
She adds, “First, the producer asked me to get out of his set. And when I got into the car, the producer’s son stopped the driver from driving me home. No one said anything about all of this. The only other person who helped me was the choreographer, who lent me his car to go home. I am not the first one to go through this, but I am someone who will not take it lying down. I will not go to that set ever again. I am done with it.”
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I AM OKAY WITH SPENDING THE MONEY, BUT MANDANA HAS BEHAVED UNPROFESSIONALLY WITH US: MAHENDRA DHARIWAL
When Bombay Times reached out to producer Mahendra Dhariwal, he said, “We were shooting for Koka Kola with Sunny Leone and Mandana before the pandemic hit us. The shoot was halted due to the lockdown. We had signed Mandana for Rs. 7 lakh, but once the shooting began and got into continuity, she started acting up. Like when we were shooting in Delhi and she had to stay back for a day, she demanded Rs. 2 lakh. Post-lockdown, when we reached out to her for dates, she said she is busy. She demanded a sum of Rs. 2 lakh a day for these new dates. She wanted the money to be paid in advance, which I did. On the last day, the shift was from 9 am to 9 pm. We had a set created and a song was being shot. At 7 pm, she said she has to leave. I requested her that we have to complete this today and to wait for one hour. She agreed and went back on set. At 8 pm, she got a call and she went into her vanity van. I ran after her to stop her from leaving because we still had a few shots left. I told her I would run into a loss as I will have to shoot the next day again. She wasn’t willing to stay back, and that is when I gave her an earful as she started packing up. Mandana started making videos of me screaming; I told her I am not scared. I entered the vanity van in about 10-15 seconds after she entered, and I knocked before entering. She asked me to step in. Public khadi thi bahar, and I was standing on the steps of the van. I requested for an additional 15 minutes, but I lost my cool when she started acting up. Later, she came back on the shooting floor and started making my videos. There were hundreds of people on the set who can vouch for what I am saying, even Prince Gupta, who was choreographing the song, will tell you that. In one-and-a-half years, for a contract of Rs. 7 lakhs, she has taken Rs. 17 lakhs, cash transactions included. I am okay with spending the money, but she has behaved unprofessionally with us.”
Once theatres reopen, we will release Virgin Bhanupriya on the big screen-Mahendra Dhariwal
8:28 AM
HINDUSTAN TIMES (July 29, 2020)
Producer Mahendra Dhariwal has produced more than 40 films so far. Maa Tujhe Salaam (2002), Nehlle Pe Dehlla (2007) and Bhaiaji Superhit (2018) are some of his notable works. His most recent work has been a comedy-drama titled Virgin Bhanupriya starring Urvashi Rautela in the lead. The film was recently released on Zee5. “It is a different concept. It is about a girl’s journey, who believes in her horoscope, which states that she would always be a virgin. It is a fresh concept according to me,” he says.
The film stars Rautela in the lead role along with Archana Puran Singh, Delnaz Irani and Brijendra Kala, among others. Ask him if he plans to release the movie in the theatres, and he says, “Yes, once theatres reopen, we will release this again on the big screen.”
About his future projects, he says, “I am doing a horror-comedy film with Sunny Leone. It is almost ready. We need to shoot just two more songs. Besides, I also have 006 Victoria and Poison which are set to hit the floor soon.”
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