Oh Manjulika, kal aana

A still from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2

What have Manjulika and Stree got to do with each other? The two have almost nothing in common, except that both are fierce spirits, feared by the characters in their films and loved by the audiences. But it looks like one has impacted the other. Stree 2's power was felt at the box office as soon as the advance booking opened on Sunday, with the film expected to take one of the year's biggest openings today. Sources tell us that looking at the euphoria around Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's horror comedy, the team of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has changed its plans to launch the film's teaser. "The makers were set to unveil the teaser this week, marking the beginning of their promotional campaign for Kartik Aaryan's Diwali release. But they have decided to push it so that the teaser doesn't get lost amid the Stree 2 hype," says a source.

Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Vidya Balan and Triptii Dimri

Anees Bazmee's directorial venture sees Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Triptii Dimri join the cast. Vidya Balan, who led the first instalment along with Akshay Kumar in 2007, has returned to the horror comedy's universe with the upcoming edition. The source adds, "The makers' decision was aided by the fact that both Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Stree 2 are horror comedies. After the smashing success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), the team aims to up the ante with the third instalment. It's an ambitious film for the whole team. Kartik thought the teaser should get complete attention, instead of it being divided between two horror comedies."