Ayushmann Khurrana has described his latest film, ‘Thamma,’ as the “tentpole film of his career” because it marks his first-ever release on the Diwali festival and has delivered his career-best opening at the box office.
The film, a horror-comedy and the fifth installment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, was released on October 21, 2025, during the festive Diwali period.
Ayushmann Khurrana: ‘Thamma’ is the tentpole film of my careerhttps://t.co/Dctkj4hrNB#AyushmannKhurrana #Thamma #Bollywood #Diwali2025 #TentpoleFilm #HindiCinema #BoxOfficeSuccess #DineshVijan #FilmRelease #BollywoodNews @ayushmannk
— YesPunjab.com (@yespunjab) October 22, 2025
It secured an opening of around ₹25.11 crore (net) in India, a personal record for Khurrana.
Khurrana stated that releasing a film during Diwali had always been an aspiration, a festival typically reserved for major superstar releases.
The film’s successful opening on this date, he feels, “busts a lot of myths that people only want to see sequels and remakes and big superstar movies on Diwali.”
In the film, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, Khurrana plays a journalist who transforms into a vampiric creature called a “Betal” (rooted in Hindu folklore) after an encounter with a mysterious woman (Rashmika Mandanna’s character, Tadaka).
Khurrana described his role as something entirely new, requiring him to work with green screens and perform elaborate action sequences, a significant departure from his usual realistic films.
He views the film’s success as a “validation of my trajectory in Hindi cinema” and a testament to the audience’s appetite for “great content” and original stories.
