Varun Dhawan’s next film with Yash Raj Films has picked up a far more arresting layer, with the studio’s first horror feature now set against the Partition era. That detail immediately lifts the project out of the usual horror template and places it in a far more ambitious space, one where historical rupture and supernatural fear can exist side by side.
It is also what makes the film stand out in the current Hindi horror wave. While the genre has seen a strong revival in recent years, very few mainstream projects have attempted to mine horror from a period setting as emotionally loaded and visually demanding as Partition. With Abhay Pannu directing, the film now carries the promise of scale as well as mood.
Film Set In The Partition Era
The Partition backdrop gives the film an unusually rich emotional canvas. A story built in that period can draw from anxiety, grief and dislocation in ways that feel deeply rooted in lived history, which in turn could give the horror a stronger psychological charge. For a genre that often relies heavily on jump scares or familiar folklore, this setting opens up room for something far more haunting.
Visually too, the film has the potential to carve out a distinct identity. Period horror demands a convincing world, from architecture and costume to the social tension of the time, and that kind of detailing could become central to the film’s impact. If executed well, the atmosphere itself may become one of the story’s biggest strengths.
YRF’s First Horror Film Takes Shape
The project had already generated attention when Yash Raj Films moved into horror for the first time with Abhay Pannu attached as writer-director. Pannu is best known for Rocket Boys, a show widely noticed for its period detailing and dramatic control, which makes his move into a historically mounted horror story especially noteworthy.
The film is expected to go on floors later in 2026, with a 2027 release target. That schedule suggests YRF is approaching the project as a carefully mounted theatrical title rather than a quick genre experiment. For a banner long associated with romance, action and franchise-driven spectacle, this marks a clear creative pivot.
Varun Dhawan’s Recent And Upcoming Work
This shift also arrives at an interesting moment in Varun’s career. Over the last couple of years, he has balanced commercial entertainers with a major streaming series, showing a willingness to move between scale-driven projects and formats that ask for a different screen presence. That makes his move into a period horror film feel less like a random detour and more like a calculated expansion of his range.
He starred in Baby John in December 2024 and headlined Citadel: Honey Bunny in 2024 alongside Samantha Ruth Prabhu. He was also seen in Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari in 2025. With Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and Border 2 released in 2026, Varun is clearly staying in the zone of big audience-facing projects.
That is precisely why this YRF film matters. Leading the studio’s first horror feature, and doing it within a Partition-era setting, gives Varun a project that feels both mainstream and unexpectedly risky, which could make it one of the most closely watched titles in his upcoming line-up.
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