Yash Raj Films is finally stepping into the dark. The studio has locked March 31, 2028 as the worldwide theatrical release date for its first ever horror film, with Varun Dhawan leading the cast and Rocket Boys creator Abhay Pannu directing.
The announcement, made on Saturday, puts an official date on a project that has been quietly building for months. The film is still untitled, and the makers have not revealed its plot or the rest of the cast yet. What is confirmed is the shape of it: a big screen horror experience, mounted at YRF scale, with one of Bollywood’s most bankable young stars at its centre.
A first for the 54-year-old studio
Yash Raj Films has made films in almost every genre since it was founded in 1970. Romance, action, drama, comedy, thrillers, spy films: the banner’s catalogue covers them all. Horror is the one shelf that stayed empty, until now.
The project is being developed under the guidance of chairman Aditya Chopra, with YRF chief executive Akshaye Widhani producing. That combination matters. It signals that this is not a small side experiment but a full studio backed entry into a genre that has found a strong theatrical audience in India in recent years.
Abhay Pannu, who won wide acclaim for the Sony LIV series Rocket Boys, has written the screenplay and will direct. The film marks his debut as a feature film director. Pannu’s work on Rocket Boys showed a rare ability to build tension out of quiet, character driven scenes, a skill that translates well to horror, where dread often works harder than a jump scare.
Varun Dhawan’s second film with YRF
For Varun Dhawan, the film is his second collaboration with Yash Raj Films after Sui Dhaaga: Made in India in 2018. In that film he played Mauji, a small town tailor fighting to build his own business, a rooted, understated turn that remains one of his most loved performances.
Horror is new territory for him as a leading man in a straight genre film. He has touched the edges of it before, in the horror comedy Bhediya in 2022, where he played a man who turns into a wolf. But a full blooded horror film, built around fear rather than laughs, is a different test altogether, and it comes at a point in his career when he has been deliberately picking varied work, from action to streaming drama.
The casting itself was first reported in August this year. Saturday’s announcement is the studio formally putting its weight behind the project, with a release date locked nearly a year and a half ahead.
What we know, and what we don’t
- Release date: March 31, 2028, in cinemas worldwide.
- Lead actor: Varun Dhawan.
- Director and writer: Abhay Pannu, making his feature film directorial debut.
- Producer: Akshaye Widhani, under the guidance of Aditya Chopra.
- Title: Not announced yet.
- Rest of the cast and plot: Not revealed.
Why horror, and why now
Indian horror has quietly become one of the most reliable genres at the box office. Films built on folk tales, haunted houses and small town superstition have drawn crowds that bigger budgeted spectacles sometimes struggle to match, and they travel well across languages. A studio of YRF’s size entering the space is a sign of how far the genre has come, from the B-movie margins to the centre of mainstream planning.
There is also a timing angle. A March 31, 2028 release puts the film in the window just after the Holi season, a period studios often use for films that need strong word of mouth rather than a festival opening. Horror, more than most genres, lives or dies on that word of mouth.
For now, fans have a date to circle and a pairing to look forward to: one of Hindi cinema’s biggest banners, a director known for precision storytelling, and a star stepping into the dark for the first time.
FAQs
When will Varun Dhawan’s YRF horror film release?
The film is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on March 31, 2028.
Who is directing YRF’s first horror film?
Abhay Pannu, best known for creating the acclaimed series Rocket Boys, is directing and has written the screenplay. It is his debut as a feature film director.
What is the title of the film?
The title has not been announced yet. The project is currently untitled.
Is this Varun Dhawan’s first film with Yash Raj Films?
No. It is his second collaboration with the studio after Sui Dhaaga: Made in India (2018).
Who is producing the film?
YRF CEO Akshaye Widhani is producing the film, which is being developed under the guidance of chairman Aditya Chopra.
More details on the cast, title and first look are expected as the film moves into production. Keep watching this space for updates.
