Two years after Dream Girl 2 (2023), Ayushmann Khurrana made a grand return to the big screen this Diwali with Thamma. The horror-comedy not only marked his and co-star Rashmika Mandanna’s entry into the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) but also brought together elements fans love — laughter, scares, and clever crossovers. True to the universe’s charm, Thamma featured hilarious references to Stree (2018) and Munjya (2024), along with Varun Dhawan’s epic cameo as Bhediya and Stree’s Abhishek Banerjee reprising his popular role as Jana. A week since its release, Thamma has officially entered the ₹100 crore club, and to celebrate the milestone, Ayushmann teamed up with a very special family member — one who’s already part of this spooky cinematic world! The Meta Joke That Had Audiences in Splits One of Thamma’s most talked-about moments comes courtesy of a brilliant meta gag. Abhishek Banerjee’s character Jana mistakes Ayushmann’s Alok for Bittu from Stree — a moment made even funnier by the fact that Bittu is played by Ayushmann’s real-life brother, Aparshakti Khurana.
The witty crossover reference had audiences laughing out loud in theatres. The Khurrana Brothers Reunite for a ‘Thammakedaar’ Celebration To mark Thamma’s box office success, the Khurrana brothers reunited for a hilarious celebratory video. Sharing the clip, Aparshakti quipped:“Humtoh soche ki Bicky ki girlfriend hi bhootiya hai… Yahan toh humaara apna bhai bhi bhootiya nikla 🧛 Par kya karein, khoon ka risstaa hai humaara 🤭 oopar se alone I am bittu and together we are bittt-toooo-much. Hope you all had a Thammakedaar experience watching Thamma! Thank you for showering so much love to the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe ❤️. ” Even Maddock Films joined the fun, commenting, “We can totally picture Bittu and Alok in MHCU like this! 😍” Ayushmann Reveals How the Meta Moment Was Born In a recent chat with News18, Ayushmann revealed that the much-loved joke wasn’t originally in the script.
“It wasn’t there in the script. That scene was written at the last minute and it was either Amar Kaushik or Abhishek Banerjee who came up with this. And to be honest, it was very difficult to keep a straight face when we were filming that scene. It required two-three takes for us to get it right because I used to burst out laughing. It was a great meta joke!” He also expressed excitement about possibly sharing screen space with Aparshakti in the future, adding:“I’m really looking forward to crossing paths with my brother.
It would be crazy. ”.
