Amar Kaushik, director of the horror-comedy Bhediya, has opened up about the film's performance at the box office and other insights regarding the making of his films, revealing interesting details about casting choices and box office dynamics.

Bhediya's Box Office Performance: Kaushik addressed the disappointing box office numbers of Bhediya, a film that, despite gaining a cult following later on streaming platforms, initially underperformed in theaters. In a conversation with Komal Nahta on The Game Changers podcast, Kaushik pointed out two main factors that contributed to this. First, Bhediya was released shortly after Drishyam 2, which had already captured audience attention. Second, the film was targeted towards a younger audience who were preoccupied with exams at the time of release. Bhediya, starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, managed to gross only ₹90 crore worldwide and was considered an average grosser.

Horror-Comedy Universe: Despite its box office performance, Bhediya played a crucial role in expanding the horror-comedy universe by merging Abhishek Banerjee's character from Stree into its narrative. Varun Dhawan also reprised his role in a cameo in Stree 2. There are plans for Bhediya 2 as part of the next phase of the universe.

Casting Shraddha Kapoor in Stree: Kaushik also shared an interesting anecdote about the casting of Shraddha Kapoor in Stree. He recalled that producer Dinesh Vijan compared Kapoor's laugh to that of a “chudail” (witch). According to Kaushik, Vijan mentioned that Kapoor's laugh reminded him of the character Stree. This comment, however, has stirred mixed reactions online, with some fans expressing disappointment and criticizing the remark as disrespectful.

Stree Franchise Success: The original Stree was released in 2018, and the sequel, Stree 2, was released on August 15 last year. The franchise, directed by Amar Kaushik, stars Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana, and Pankaj Tripathi. A third installment is also in development.