'Vicky Vidya...' director apologises for unauthorised use of 'Stree' references in film

Raaj Shaandilyaa, director of “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video”, apologised unconditionally over the unauthorised usage of character and dialogue from Maddock Films’ franchise “Stree” in the recently released film.

According to reports, Stree, the ghost from Maddock’s horror universe, has an appearance in “Vicky Vidya…”, featuring Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri. The film hit the screens on Friday.

In a statement shared on X, Shaandilyaa said the makers will remove “all infringing content” related to the popular horror comedy, also starring Rao, latest by October 15.

“We deeply regret any harm caused to Maddock Films and their franchise as a result of this infringement. We are taking immediate steps to rectify the issue and are in the process of removing all infringing content from our film wherein we have used character and dialogue from Maddock Films ‘Stree’ at the earliest,” he wrote on Saturday.

The filmmaker tendered the apology on behalf of “Vicky Vidya…” producers Super Cassettes Ind. Pvt. Ltd., Balaji Motion Pictures and Wakaoo Films.

Maddock Films said they have received a formal public apology from Shaandilyaa and other makers for “wrongfully using elements from their ‘Stree’ franchise without permission”.

No such unauthorised usage will occur in the future, said Shaandilyaa.

“We further confirm that our film ‘Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video’ is in no way associated with Maddock Films, their ‘Stree’ and ‘Stree 2’ franchises, or any of the characters therein. Additionally, we make no claim to any intellectual property rights in ‘Stree,’ ‘Stree 2,’ or any related characters,” he added.

“Stree 2”, the sequel to 2018’s “Stree”, is one of the highest grossing Hindi films of the year. It was released on August 15.