The actor laughed off reports that Maddock's horror-comedy is being pushed out of its December 24 slot to dodge Shah Rukh Khan's King.
Vishal Jethwa heard the rumours too. He just won't say if they're true.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal at FICCI FRAMES 2026, the actor was asked point blank about reports that his upcoming film Shakti Shalini is being nudged off its December 24, 2026 release date. His answer, in Hindi: "Maine bhi sune hain rumours." Translation, roughly: he's heard them too, and he's leaving it at that.
The speculation isn't coming out of nowhere. December 24, 2026 is also the date carrying Shah Rukh Khan's King, a film with the kind of opening-weekend gravity that tends to flatten whatever shares its Friday. Trade chatter has suggested Maddock might shift Shakti Shalini into 2027 rather than go head to head with a Khan release. Jethwa didn't confirm that. He didn't knock it down either. He just laughed it off, which in Bollywood-speak usually means something is being discussed behind closed doors even if nobody's ready to announce it.
As of now, officially, nothing has changed. No statement from Maddock Films, no revised date on paper. Shakti Shalini is still sitting on the December 24 slot until somebody says otherwise.
What's not in doubt is the film itself. Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, it's the next entry in Maddock's horror-comedy universe, the one that's given Hindi cinema Stree, Bhediya and most recently Thamma. Aneet Padda, fresh off Saiyaara, was confirmed as the lead last year, and her character actually got her first screen moment in the post-credits sequence of Thamma when that film released on October 21, 2025. That's the connective tissue Maddock likes building between its titles, and it's part of why this one's being watched closely.
Jethwa and Padda aren't new to each other either. They shared screen space back in 2022's Salaam Venky, so this counts as a reunion rather than a fresh pairing. Jethwa's own prep for the role has apparently involved a visible physical transformation, though the makers are keeping his character details locked down for now. That kind of silence around a role tends to mean the twist matters.
So the film is cast, it's shot or shooting, the mystery character is intact, and the only open question is the one nobody in the room will confirm: does December 24 still hold, or does Shakti Shalini quietly step aside for King? Trade will be watching the next few weeks for an actual announcement rather than another non-denial.
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