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Naagzilla: Kartik Aaryan becomes ichchadhari naag in latest collaboration with Karan Johar. Watch

Naagzilla first look: Kartik Aaryan plays an ichchhadhari naag in the film, which promises a blend of fantasy and folklore

Kartik Aaryan is teaming up with Karan Johar for the first time.

After werewolves howled their way through Bhediya, it’s now the turn of the shape-shifting serpent to move into the spotlight. Dharma Productions, in collaboration with Mahaveer Jain Films, has announced its upcoming horror-comedy Naagzilla, headlined by Kartik Aaryan in a never-seen-before avatar. He plays Preyamvadeshwar Pyare Chand, an ichchhadhari naag (a serpent with the power to transform into a human) embarking on a wild, supernatural adventure.

Directed by Fukrey fame Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, Naagzilla marks the filmmaker’s second collaboration with Dharma after Tu Meri, Main Tera. But what’s perhaps more headline-worthy is the fact that this also marks the second official film team-up between Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar, following their now-famous fallout over Dostana 2. That film, co-starring Janhvi Kapoor and Lakshya, was shelved after nearly a month of shooting, sparking a wave of speculation. Now, the two appear to have buried the hatchet — with Naagzilla being the surprising result.

The film’s motion poster, shared by Karan Johar on Instagram, features Kartik in a snake-infested cave, cloaked in a serpentine green skin, gazing over a misty cityscape. The caption read: “Insanon wali picturein toh bahut dekh li, ab dekho naagon wali picture! Naagzilla – Naag Lok ka pehla kaand… Funnn phailaane aa raha hai.”

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Also Read | Kartik Aaryan breaks silence on fallout with Karan Johar over his exit from Dostana 2: ‘Jab bhi aise koi khabar aati hai…

Expected to hit cinemas in 2026, Naagzilla is touted as a horror-comedy with a blend of fantasy and folklore. It arrives at a time when Bollywood is increasingly embracing genre-mashing supernatural comedies — much of which is credited to Dinesh Vijan’s horror-comedy universe, which kicked off with Stree and expanded to Bhediya, and is now set to venture into vampire territory with Ayushmann Khurrana’s Thama.

Interestingly, while horror-comedies are the latest Bollywood trend, shape-shifting serpents — naags and naagins — have long been television royalty. Ekta Kapoor’s various renditions of Naagin, especially with Mouni Roy, have been TRP juggernauts, and Naagzilla looks like a big-screen evolution of that mythological madness. Earlier, Sridevi (Nagina and Nigahaen), Reena Roy (Naagin), Aamir Khan (Tum Mere Ho) and Armaan Kohli (Jaani Dushman) have brought shapeshifting snakes to life on the big screen. A film with Shraddha Kapoor on the same theme was announced during Covid but didn’t materialise.

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