Movies such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara are getting the fan fiction treatment on online forums, along with its stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif.

Picture this: Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday, Bollywood's favourite younglings, wake up cuddling in a luxury hotel room. They're openheartedly sharing their anxieties about winning Filmfare awards for Best Debut for their hit film, Saiyaara. This might seem like leaked camera footage. But it isn't. It's merely the plot for Ahneet - Abhi Bhi Kuch Pal Baki Hai, Wattpad's #1 trending fan fiction story for Saiyaara, conjured up by user @AneetWrites.

One click away, BHOR: Her Time Has Risen, by @Glory534, focuses on Dawn Thakur, a rebellious young woman modelled on actor Shraddha Kapoor, out to avenge the murder of her parents at the hands of an evil uncle. And who should join her deadly adventures, but fellow actors Tiger Shroff, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif? Fan fiction (FanFic, to use the insider shorthand; FF, to use the even shorter shorthand), on platforms such as Wattpad, Archive Of Our Own (AO3) and FanFiction.net, is enjoying a resurgence.

Now, with AI pitching in with the actual writing, and with actual films and shows largely falling short on originality, the unlikely genre is where to go to see some brave fiction.

Meet the writers