Sunny Leone Wraps ‘Chudail’ Shoot in Uttar Pradesh, Returns to Horror 12 Years After ‘Ragini MMS 2’

Sunny Leone is heading back into supernatural territory, but her new project is taking a noticeably different route from Ragini MMS 2.

The actor has wrapped filming in Uttar Pradesh for an upcoming Hindi horror-comedy being reported under the title Chudail. Directed by TLV Prasad, the film also features Rahul Dev and Mandana Karimi and is being produced by Mahindra Dhariwal. Dhariwal has said the project is intended for a theatrical release around the end of September 2026.

While several details about the film currently come from the producer and people associated with the production rather than a full-scale official launch, the project is notable for bringing Leone back to Hindi horror 12 years after Ragini MMS 2 — this time as the supernatural figure at the centre of the story.

What is confirmed about ‘Chudail’?

Producer Mahindra Dhariwal has confirmed that filming took place at a haveli in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. He also described the project as a horror-comedy and musical and said the Hindi film is intended to be dubbed in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam as part of a wider release strategy.

Dhariwal has further said that Chudail will mark his 50th production. The film is being directed by TLV Prasad, with Leone, Rahul Dev and Mandana Karimi among its reported principal cast.

One point deserves caution: some coverage continues to describe Chudail as a tentative or reported title. Until the makers issue a formal title announcement accompanied by first-look material, a teaser or another official promotional asset, it is safer editorially to avoid treating every promotional detail as final.

Sunny Leone plays the supernatural threat this time

The early plot information points towards Leone playing a spirit associated with Bulandshahr.

According to production details reported by Mid-day, her character haunts men but is not intended to function simply as a conventional evil witch. The character is said to have suffered a serious injustice while alive, providing the motivation for her actions after death.

That character description is significant because it shifts Chudail towards the familiar Indian folklore idea of a wronged woman returning as a supernatural force, while the horror-comedy format gives the filmmakers room to approach that mythology differently.

The same production reporting says visual effects are being used for Leone's supernatural transformation, including traditional folkloric characteristics associated with the chudail figure.

These specific plot and VFX details have not yet been independently demonstrated through an official teaser or trailer, so they should remain attributed to production reporting rather than stated as independently verified footage descriptions.

Mandana Karimi and Rahul Dev add another layer to the story

The film is also expected to feature Mandana Karimi as another supernatural presence, putting her character into conflict with Leone's.

Rahul Dev, meanwhile, is reported to play a priest drawn into the confrontation.

If those story details remain intact in the finished film, Chudail will be built around more than a single ghost-versus-human setup. The apparent conflict between two supernatural characters, with Dev's priest positioned between them, could provide the narrative mechanism for its mix of horror and comedy.

A return to horror after ‘Ragini MMS 2’

The obvious reference point in Leone's filmography is 2014's Ragini MMS 2.

Balaji Telefilms' official catalogue identifies Ragini MMS 2 as a horror film starring Leone, directed by Bhushan Patel and released on March 21, 2014. Balaji's annual report for 2013-14 also records the film as an ALT Entertainment production and says it performed strongly at the box office.

The comparison with Chudail, however, should not be overstated.

In Ragini MMS 2, Leone appeared within a haunted-house narrative in which supernatural forces threaten a film crew. Chudail places her on the other side of that equation: the available information has her portraying the supernatural entity herself.

That makes the new project less of a repetition of Ragini MMS 2 than a reversal of Leone's earlier horror positioning.

Why the Bulandshahr setting matters

The Uttar Pradesh location is another potentially distinctive part of the project.

Dhariwal specifically confirmed that the production filmed at a haveli in Bulandshahr.  Rather than treating this simply as a production-location detail, it connects directly with the film's reported North Indian supernatural setting.

The word “chudail” carries a long history within South Asian supernatural storytelling. A contemporary horror-comedy built around that figure therefore has an opportunity to draw upon recognisable folklore while changing the perspective through which the supernatural woman is presented.

Whether Chudail actually develops that idea substantially cannot be assessed until official footage or fuller story material is released. The currently available synopsis is still too limited to draw conclusions about how the film ultimately handles the mythology.

A pan-India plan but no locked release date yet

Dhariwal has described Chudail as a pan-India project, with the Hindi original planned for dubbing in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. He has also said the team is targeting a theatrical release towards the end of September.

That should currently be treated as a release plan rather than a locked release date.

No specific September date surfaced in the primary or reliable secondary material reviewed for this report. Likewise, an official teaser or theatrical poster establishing a final date has not yet been located.

For publication, “targeting late September 2026” is therefore more accurate than stating that the film will definitely release on a particular day.

The Celebrity Hour Take

The more interesting angle around Chudail isn't simply that Sunny Leone is “returning to horror.”

Her 2014 appearance in Ragini MMS 2 came from a very different phase of Hindi horror, and Balaji itself marketed that film around its deliberately provocative combination of horror, music and sensuality. Its annual reports show how central Leone was to that positioning.

Twelve years later, Chudail appears to be positioning her differently: as a supernatural protagonist whose backstory reportedly gives her vengeance a narrative motive, within a horror-comedy rather than a straight horror-thriller framework.

That difference is what makes the project worth watching. The key test will come with its first official promotional material: whether the film uses its folklore-inspired premise to build a distinctive character, or relies primarily on familiar horror-comedy conventions.

Sources & Verification

This report was prepared by cross-checking producer Mahindra Dhariwal's publicly reported comments about the production with independent coverage of the Uttar Pradesh shoot. Historical details about Ragini MMS 2 were verified against official Balaji Telefilms material, including its film catalogue and corporate annual reports.

Specific descriptions of Sunny Leone's Chudail character, Mandana Karimi's supernatural role and the film's VFX come from production information reported by Mid-day and have therefore been attributed rather than presented as independently confirmed footage.