Werewolf Wednesday Entry 2/26/25

Title: Bhediya.

Media: Film, directed by Amar Kaushik.

Released in 2022, the horror comedy is produced by Dinesh Vijan from Niren Bhatt’s story and screenplay. The film itself is inspired by Arunachal Pradesh’s folklore about Yapum, a werewolf which protects the surrounding forest. The film draws additional inspiration from the 1992 film, Junoon, which follows the protagonist Vikram, who is cursed to transform into a tiger each full moon after he is bitten by a cursed tiger. 

The plot of Bhediya follows protagonist Bhaskar and his cousin Janardan as they begin work on a road building project in Arunachal Pradesh, where they befriend locals Jomin and Panda. One night after exploring the surrounding forest, Bhaskar is bitten by a wolf and taken to the local veterinarian, Anika, for treatment, as she is the nearest doctor in the region. In the following days during Bhaskar’s recovery, he discovers peculiar changes in his body. His sense of smell is particularly keen, and his hearing more sensitive. As Bhaskar makes his strange recovery, the road building project continues with some reluctance from locals. Later in the week, two workers are found dead with bite marks covering their bodies indicative of a wolf attack, and as Bhaskar continues to act strangely, his friends grow suspicious that somehow he is responsible for the attack after Panda claims the crimes were the work of a werewolf. 

Eventually, Bhaskar’s friends confront him about his odd behaviour, and he cracks under the pressure, admitting that he seems to be a werewolf and has no idea how to cope with this newfound affliction. With the head of the road building project now cursed, the group of friends begin a race against the clock to find a cure before he changes again, and the truth is exposed to the locals. After all, it isn’t exactly a fantastic look for any sort of industrial project when the boss is a monster. 

The film takes many creative and comedic liberties, earning its place as a horror classic of the 2020’s. While Bhediya did not yield profound box office success, it performed modestly, grossing about ₹90 crore, luckily exceeding its budget of roughly ₹60 crore. A common theme among werewolf media is a general lack of public interest in stories about the titular monster. Stephen Sommers’ Van Helsing was released in 2004, and reached cult classic status almost a decade and a half later in the 2020’s. It will be interesting to see how Bhediya ages, and if public interest increases as time passes. While werewolf media has yet to produce another An American Werewolf in London, only time will tell how existing stories will age. 

As always, be sure to appreciate your local monsters.