Hindi cinema's New Mogul

'We don't make films for profit and that's exactly why profit follows.'

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That is the moniker for Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films.

In a market where film-makers are fumbling to understand audiences, the makers of Chhava, Stree 2, Munjya etc seem to be getting it right consistently.

In 2022, Nepean Capital, a private equity fund, acquired half of Maddock Films at an undisclosed valuation.

With a net profit of Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) on revenues of Rs 380 crore (Rs 3.8 billion) in the financial year ending 2024, Maddock is clearly on a roll.

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar met the elusive 45-year-old producer at his office in Mumbai for a chat on his approach to the business, where he says, "Maddock has always been a place where unusual stories find a home. If someone walks in with an idea that feels whacked-out, different, or tough to place, we'll always give it a serious listen."

How did you go from banking to films?

After my MBA, I got into investment banking.

But they wanted me to sign a three-year bond, and I didn't want to make that kind of commitment at that point.

I had done my summers with JM Morgan Stanley (now Morgan Stanley), and the person I worked with had joined ING Bank.

So I transitioned into private banking.

On the family front, we had a successful family logistics business that my dad hoped I'd join. But I kept coming back to the idea of making films. I ended up producing Being Cyrus (2005), which got a lot of acclaim.

Saif (Ali Khan, the lead actor) and I hit it off, and we co-founded Illuminati Films in 2009.

Love Aaj Kal (2009) really gave us a foothold.

Later, I started Maddock Films, and we've made films like Badlapur (2015), Hindi Medium (2017), Mimi (2021), Stree (1 and 2) and Chhaava (2025).