Bhootam Bhayyam
Seven friends awaken a centuries-old curse through greed.
**Bhootam Bhayyam** (transl. Ghosts and Fear) is a 2026 Indian Marathi-language horror comedy film. It marks the directorial debut of Ramchandra Gaonkar, who also wrote the story, screenplay, and dialogue. The film was produced by Naren Kumar and Mahesh Dnyandeo Korade under the banner Kyra Kumar Kreations. The ensemble cast includes Chhaya Kadam, Karan Sonawane, Neel Salekar, Saurabh Ghadge, Siddhant Sarfare, Shubham Jadhav, Pushkaraj Chirputkar, and Manmeet Pem, several of whom are social media content creators appearing in their first feature film. The film was released in theatres on 24 July 2026.
**Plot**
Seven unemployed friends move into Raniwada, an abandoned mansion with a disturbing past. There, they discover an ancient coin called the *parees*, which can generate money. Ignoring warnings from an elderly man named Bhaskar Purushottam that using it will bring severe consequences, they exploit the coin out of greed. When one friend, Gaja, goes missing, Bhaskar returns to explain the coin's history. It once belonged to a queen and could turn anything to gold, but was stolen centuries ago by a young man. The theft drained the coin's power, which could only be restored if the thief's blood touched it. The queen, bound by a vow to protect the thief, could not intervene. In the present, a character named Jathai recognizes the coin and tries to kill Gaja—the thief reborn—to restore its power. Gaja escapes once but is recaptured, and the friends must free him and overcome their own greed.
**Cast**
Chhaya Kadam as Jathai, Karan Sonawane as Gaja, Manmeet Pem as Prikshit (alias Exam), Pushkaraj Chirputkar as Balkrushna (alias Kaka), Neel Salekar as Narhari (alias Reel), Shubham Jadhav as Tanhaji (alias Pampi), Saurabh Ghadge as Ravindra Modak, Siddhant Sarfare as Tanmay, Priyadarshan Jadhav as Maya, Pratap Phad as Monty, Sobita Kudtarkar as Sarojini, Kishor Chaughule as Sachin Jadhav, Suhita Thatte as Gaja's mother, Ninad Limaye as Bhaskar Purushottam, Abhay Khadapkar as Babu Kaka, and Rohan Surve as Dinkar.
**Production**
Ramchandra Gaonkar made his feature-film debut with *Bhootam Bhayyam*, handling direction, story, screenplay, and dialogue. Gaonkar stated the team worked on the project for about two years, aiming to create a distinctive theatrical experience, and described it as a youthful production led by a new generation of Marathi filmmakers. The
- Release year
- 2026
- Language
- Marathi
- Genre
- Horror comedy
- Director
- Ramchandra Gaonkar
- Producer(s)
- Naren Kumar, Mahesh Dnyandeo Korade
- Production company
- Kyra Kumar Kreations
- Distributor
- Zee Studios
Lore & Background
The film follows seven unemployed friends who move into an abandoned mansion called Raniwada, where they discover an ancient coin known as the parees that can produce gold. Despite warnings from an elderly man, Bhaskar Purushottam, they exploit the coin for quick money. When one friend, Gaja, goes missing, Bhaskar reveals the coin's history: it belonged to a queen and could turn objects to gold, but was stolen centuries earlier by a young man. The theft cost the coin its power, which could be restored only if the thief's blood touched it. In the present, the antagonist Jathai recognizes the coin and seeks to kill Gaja, the thief reborn, to restore its power. The friends must free Gaja and end their greed.
Bhootam Bhayyam marked the feature-film debut of Ramchandra Gaonkar, who wrote the story, screenplay and dialogue in addition to directing. The film brought together several social media performers collectively known as the 'Orange Juice Gang', including Karan Sonawane, Neel Salekar and Saurabh Ghadge, for their first appearance together on the big screen. Chhaya Kadam's role as Jathai required extensive prosthetic makeup by Jitendra Mhatre, which took around three and a half hours to apply each day and left her with limited mobility while in costume.
Reader's Guide
Bhootam Bhayyam is notable as the directorial debut of Ramchandra Gaonkar and for bringing together social media content creators from the 'Orange Juice Gang' for their first feature film appearance. The film's production emphasized a youthful approach, with Gaonkar describing it as a project led by a new generation of Marathi filmmakers. The prosthetic makeup for Chhaya Kadam's character attracted significant attention in the Marathi press, with outlets noting she was almost unrecognizable. Commercially, the film opened to an estimated ₹22 lakh net in India, ranking as the seventh-highest opening for a Marathi film in 2026, but was characterized as a commercial failure against its ₹4 crore budget, despite ranking among the ten highest-grossing Marathi films of the year. Critical reception was mixed, with praise for art direction, cinematography, and performances, but criticism of weak comedy, lack of scares, derivative screenplay, excessive gore, and prolonged runtime.
Did You Know?
- The film's antagonist Jathai, played by Chhaya Kadam, required around three and a half hours of prosthetic makeup application each day.
- Several cast members, including Karan Sonawane, Neel Salekar, and Saurabh Ghadge, are social media content creators making their feature debuts as part of the 'Orange Juice Gang'.
- The film's first look, released in July 2026, attracted considerable attention in the Marathi press, with outlets noting Kadam was almost unrecognizable.
- Ahead of release, Zee Entertainment Enterprises obtained a four-week temporary injunction from the Madras High Court to prevent copyright infringement, including unauthorized online distribution and cable television reco
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