From unexpected cameos to sneaky Easter eggs, these Hindi films have quietly created some wonderfully weird cinematic universes of their own.
IMAGE: Kunal Kemmu in Vibe, left, and Go Goa Gone.
Key Points
- Hindi cinema has created several unofficial cinematic universes through cameos, recurring characters, Easter eggs and shared references.
- From Phone Bhoot and Fukrey to Golmaal Again and Cirkus, these connections range from clever and subtle to completely absurd.
- The feature explores how filmmakers have linked seemingly unrelated movies, sometimes turning familiar characters and locations into unexpected crossover points.
We are living in an era where interconnected cinematic universes are the rage, even as we simultaneously witness their wane. We owe it all to one ‘small’ studio they call Marvel.
But Marvel was never the very first studio to introduce the concept of a cinematic universe. They certainly took it seriously, making it a saleable and glamorised idea, but they absolutely did not kickstart the concept.
Cinematic universes existed much earlier, established in far more playful ways through a quirky Easter egg or a fleeting cameo. Why, even Bollywood had its fair share of cinematic universes well before they officially went into dedicated franchise-making.
These movies are usually not entirely serious about their crossovers. Often, they are merely teasing fans with the vague promise of one, showing no desire to be as structured as, say, a YRF Spy Universe or a Maddock Horror Comedy Universe.
For instance, Kunal Kemmu’s second directorial venture Vibe sees him a slacker named Hardik, who is suddenly thrust into a massive, nation-saving spy mission.
Not only is his personality strikingly similar, but he shares the exact same name as his character from his cult horror comedy Go Goa Gone.
What is more, even if you have not watched the movie, the trailer practically confirms he is the exact same junkie who made a fun cameo in 2024’s Madgaon Express, also directed by Kemmu.
So, through one single character, the actor-director cheekily teases that three of his funniest movies are set in the exact same universe.
Even the recent thriller Haiwaan brought in Mohanlal for a brief cameo where he plays a blind character named ‘Ram’, a clear nod to his character in Oppam, the Malayalam original that Haiwaanremakes.
So, going purely by that cameo, presumably both movies are set in the same universe. This brings up the rather interesting probability of two visually impaired characters having the exact same harrowing experience.
This ‘universe’ connection does not always have to make total sense. Filmmakers love to pay homage to their own past works or to other iconic films with neat little tidbits dropped into their latest endeavours.
Keeping that playful aspect firmly in mind, Sreeju Sudhakaran tracks down these seemingly disconnected Hindi movies that are cleverly brought together thanks to a fun cameo or a sneaky Easter egg.
Andaz Apna Apna and Mr India
IMAGE: Shakti Kapoor in Andaz Apna Apna; Amrish Puri in Mr India.
Even megalomaniac villains fall hopelessly for nepotism, even if the kids aren’t remotely as talented as their seniors.
Rajkumar Santoshi’s hilarious comedy features Shakti Kapoor’s Crime Master Gogo constantly insisting he is the nephew of Mogambo, Amrish Puri’s powerful villain from Mr India.
It clearly looks like the fearsome uncle forgot to teach his bhatija exactly how to be a competent villain, seeing as Gogo is easily tricked by two good-for-nothing fellas without any invisibility gadget.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega
IMAGE: Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega.
Okay, you do not have to take every ‘connection’ on this list as canon-serious. Case in point: This one.
Shah Rukh Khan makes a surprising appearance in this romantic entertainer as a mentally disturbed widower named Rahul. He believes a comatose woman is his dead wife because, of course, she happens to be played by Rani Mukerji.
To drive that ‘universal’ connection even harder, little ‘Anjali’ (Sana Saeed) drops in to earnestly explain her father’s sad condition.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Heyy Babyy
IMAGE: Vidya Balan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh in Heyy Babyy.
Much like with Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, Shah Rukh Khan dropped in to completely ‘ruin’ the happy ending of yet another popular ’90s role. This time, he reprised Raj from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in Heyy Babyy during the Mast Kalander song where he competes for the attention of the beautiful Vidya Balan, alongside Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh.
Well, it was not just him.
Anupam Kher, who memorably played his father in DDLJ, also appears in the Sajid Khan comedy. He reveals that Raj’s love Sim ‘Ran’ away, and he is currently looking for a brand new bride for his heartbroken son.
Dev D and Gulaal
IMAGE: Raj Singh Chaudhary and Abhay Deol in Dev D.
In 2009, Anurag Kashyap delivered two bangers within the same year: Dev D and Gulaal. He also sneaked in a brilliant Easter egg directly connecting both films.
In a bar scene in Dev D, Abhay Deol’s character is seen sharing the frame with Dilip Singh, the tragic protagonist of Gulaal, played by Raj Singh Chaudhary.
What confirms it is the exact same character is the brief glimpse of the helmet resting right next to him, the very same helmet he wore when he went on that violent spree in his film’s climax.
Ra.One and Enthiran
IMAGE: Rajinikanth in Ra.One.
Shah Rukh Khan just loves to create his very own cinematic universes, does he not?
After dropping cameos in other movies reprising his own iconic roles, SRK brought in Rajinikanth to reprise Chitti, the superstar’s iconic android character from Enthiran, for a genuinely fun cameo in his superhero film, Ra.One.
Sadly, Suresh Menon, who had a small role in the movie, later revealed in an interview that Rajinikanth was not actually present for the shoot, and they used his body double. What an absolute bummer!
PS: Since I really didn’t want to make this an overly SRK-dominant list, let me drop this one final tidbit as a post-script. Shah Rukh’s memorable cameo in Brahmastra features the exact same name as his character in Swades, Mohan Bhargav, and the exact same profession as a scientist.
Does that mean Ashutosh Gowariker’s grounded social drama exists in the exact same world as his brother-in-law Ayan Mukerji’s mytho-fantasy movie? If so, why on earth did Mohan need to send rockets to space when he can literally just fly on his own?
Fukrey and Phone Bhoot
IMAGE: Manjot Singh, Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma in Fukrey 3; Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi in Phone Bhoot.
Fukrey has been one of Excel Entertainment’s most successful comedy franchises. Phone Bhoot, starring Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi, was the production company’s attempt to enter the supernatural comedy space.
They actively tried to merge both films into the same universe.
In Phone Bhoot, Fukrey‘s three protagonists, Hunny (Pulkit Samrat), Choocha (Varun Sharma) and Lali (Manjot Singh), drop in for cameos in a scene where they prank the ghost-busting heroes.
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar, Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
IMAGE: Kartik Aaryan, Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar.
How many of you actually remember there is a functioning Luv Ranjan cinematic universe?
This universe is casually set up in the director’s 2023 romcom, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor. Kartik Aaryan and Nushrratt Bharuccha drop in for guest roles in separate scenes, and both are given fake names.
But their distinct behaviour and fourth-wall-breaking nods hint at their true identities. Kartik stops Shraddha’s character from launching into a very familiar ‘Problem…’ rant, confirming he is from the Pyaar Ka Punchnama films (which one, I am not sure).
Meanwhile, Nushrratt provides the exact same backstory as her manipulative, gold-digger character from the 2018 hit Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.
Singham and Dabangg
IMAGE: Ajay Devgn in Singham Again; Salman Khan in Dabangg 2.
Dabangg and Singham were easily the most highly successful cop franchises in Hindi cinema, and it would have been quite the tantalising idea to orchestrate a crossover featuring these two.
Rohit Shetty definitely thought so.
That is exactly how he somehow convinced Salman Khan to randomly drop in as a bearded Chulbul Pandey right in the post-credit scene of Singham Again. The grand idea was to launch a big movie featuring both Singham and Chulbul as the main heroes.
Unfortunately, when The Avengers of Rohit Shetty’s Cop Universe underwhelmed at the box office, the mixed fan reception threw cold water all over that ambitious plan.
Golmaal Again and Cirkus
IMAGE: Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Kemmu and Arshad Warsi in Golmaal Again; Ranveer Singh in Cirkus.
Rohit Shetty tried to establish yet another ‘universe’ in his flop comedy Cirkus. He brought back the Jamnadas Orphanage from Golmaal Again, establishing that Cirkus is set decades before the chaotic events of the 2017 supernatural comedy.
The much younger versions of Gopal, Madhav, both Laxmans and Lucky even make a brief appearance in the film in the last scene.
Raanjhanaa and Tere Ishk Mein
IMAGE: Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush in Raanjhanaa; Dhanush and Kriti Sanon in Tere Ishk Mein.
Aanand L Rai reunited with his Raanjhanaa lead Dhanush after more than a decade for yet another tragedy-laced romantic entertainer, Tere Ishk Mein.
So how could they possibly miss paying a direct nod to their successful previous collaboration?
In an emotional scene set in Varanasi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub drops in for a ‘motivational’ cameo. Reprising his role of Kundan’s loyal friend Murari from Raanjhanaa, he tells Dhanush’s new character just how much he strongly reminds him of his dead best friend.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
