A sequel to horror film "Chhorri" is under development with lead actor Nushrratt Bharuccha and director Vishal Furia returning at the helm, the makers announced Thursday.
Producers T-Series, Crypt TV and Abundantia Entertainment are looking forward to expanding the franchise following the success of the Hindi film which was released on Amazon Prime Video on November 26.
"Chhorii" is the remake of Furia's 2017 Marathi film "Lapachhapi", which revolves around a pregnant woman whose unborn child is targeted by evil spirits.
The sequel, tentatively titled "Chhorii 2", is set to pick up Sakshi (Bharuccha)'s story from where it left off in the first film and will bring back some key characters as well as introduce new scares.
Furia said he is "thrilled" to take the film's story to the next level with its part two.
"I have always envisioned Chhorii to be a multiple film franchise and started developing the story of the sequel while we were filming the first edition. The love for Chhorrii from all quarters has been overwhelming and I am ready to begin another journey with the amazingly talented Nushrratt and my producers who have stood by me and supported my vision all through," the filmmaker said in a statement.
Bharuccha said she is "over the moon" with the response to "Chhorii" and is excited to reunite with Furia and the crew.
"Chhorii was a significant departure from the work I had previously been a part of and to see the risk being rewarded is such a great feeling. Chhorii is a passion project for all of us and I cannot wait to engage with Vishal and the team as we take the story forward with Chhorii 2," she added.
Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Vikram Malhotra, Jack Davis and Shikhaa Sharma, who will continue as producers, issued a joint statement regarding the second part of "Chhorii".
"The critical acclaim and fan love that Chhorii has received is a testament to our belief that the Indian audience has a strong appetite for high-quality scary content and we hope to continue serving them with more exciting and unique stories.
"We are also grateful to Amazon Prime Video for the platform that Chhorii received to showcase itself to the world. With Chhorii 2, we are delighted to continue the successful collaboration with Vishal at the helm and Nushrratt as our leading lady. We hope to take Chhorii 2 a notch higher and make it scarier than the first edition," they said.
"Chhorii 2" also marks a step forward in Abundantia Entertainment and LA-based Crypt TV's collaboration to create platform-agnostic and genre-defying horror stories. This film will also be the second venture of Psych, Abundantia Entertainment's vertical focused on horror and paranormal stories.
The sequel marks another outing between T-Series and Abundantia Entertainment following films like "Chhorii", "Sherni" and "Airlift".
