Yash Raj Films is moving into horror, and Varun Dhawan is set to lead that new chapter. According to sources, Varun is attached to headline the production house’s first-ever horror feature, with a theatrical release planned for 2027. The film will be directed by Abhay Pannu, and it also brings Varun back to YRF for the first time since Sui Dhaaga, his 2018 collaboration with the studio alongside Anushka Sharma. Reports suggest the project is being driven with real intent from the top, with YRF CEO Akshaye Widhani said to be championing the studio’s push into the genre.
This intent is really what makes this announcement worth paying attention to. Over the decades, YRF has touched almost every major commercial genre in Hindi cinema, yet horror has remained absent from its slate. A studio choosing to enter a new genre for the first time is rarely just about one film; it usually signals something much bigger about what the banner is known for. The choice to lead with a mainstream star rather than a smaller, experimental production suggests YRF isn’t treating horror as a side note.
Abhay Pannu’s involvement adds another layer of curiosity. He earned strong recognition for Rocket Boys, a series built around real history, scientific ambition and the slow-burn tension of biographical storytelling. Horror demands a completely different toolkit: atmosphere, dread and pacing that plays with silence rather than exposition. Making the jump from a grounded period drama to a theatrical horror film is a significant creative pivot, and it naturally raises the question of what Abhay Pannu, who has also written the screenplay, will carry over from his earlier work and what he will leave behind entirely.
As for Varun Dhawan, horror is not entirely new ground. He has already spent time in that space with Bhediya and Stree 2, both of which leaned on horror-comedy rather than straight fright. That earlier experience means he isn’t walking into the genre blind, but it also sets up a natural point of comparison: whether this YRF project pushes him toward a more serious, less comedic register than audiences have seen from him in this space before.
In the end, this project brings together three new beginnings: YRF trying horror for the first time, Abhay Pannu directing a theatrical feature after years of acclaimed work in long-form storytelling, and Varun Dhawan stepping into a different kind of role. None of the story details have been revealed yet, but the combination of a major studio, a filmmaker making an ambitious creative leap and a familiar star exploring another side of the horror genre makes this a project worth keeping an eye on.
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