Kussh S. Sinha’s Nikita Roy Is a Stylish Mystery with a Familiar Face

There’s a quiet swagger to Kussh S. Sinha as he steps into the ring with Nikita Roy, his long-in-the-works feature debut. And not just because his sister Sonakshi Sinha headlines it. Or because he’s squaring off at the box office with Kajol. But because this thing? It’s personal.

Out June 27, Nikita Roy is a supernatural mystery with mood, muscle, and—if early buzz holds—more brains than most Bollywood genre pieces dare to flaunt.

This Isn’t Kussh Sinha’s First Time Yelling “Action”

Kussh isn’t some film school debutante armed with a DSLR and dreams. He directed the sleek Khoon Mein Hai back in 2017, then went on to lead Season 2 of Design HQ, which—plot twist—landed him a nomination at the Asian Television Awards. The guy knows his way around a set.

But Nikita Roy has been marinating since 2020, hitting pause through the pandemic and finally rolling cameras in late 2022 in chilly, fog-kissed corners of Hertfordshire and Watford.

“I wasn’t in a rush,” Kussh told Koimoi.com. “I needed it to feel right—not just to look right.” The script, originally penned by Pavan Kirpalani (Phobia, Bhoot Police), went through rewrites until it clicked into something leaner, more cerebral, and led by a woman with layers.

The Sinha Siblings Work Together—Finally

Let’s address the elephant: Yes, Sonakshi Sinha is the lead. And no, this wasn’t some sibling sweet-deal.

“She’d turned down my earlier scripts,” Kussh casually admitted. “This one got her attention.” The role of Nikita—a sharp, emotionally complicated woman navigating spiritual terror—is miles from the glam-doll roles Sonakshi’s been boxed into. And that’s the point.

According to Social News XYZ, Sonakshi was drawn to how grounded and complex the character felt. No scream-queen nonsense, no damsel detours. Just a woman caught in something dark, strange, and real.

And despite being family, Kussh reportedly ran the set with tight professionalism. As Moneycontrol put it, the vibe was more director-lead-actor than bhai-behen banter.

Big Names, Big Swings

The cast around her isn’t light either. Paresh Rawal plays the film’s spiritual antagonist—a move that gives the movie instant gravitas. Kussh wrote the role with him in mind, then patiently waited until the timing felt right to approach.

“There’s maybe 1% of this industry who wouldn’t jump to work with Paresh-ji,” he told Koimoi, with the kind of fandom humility you love to see from a first-time director.

Add Arjun Rampal and Suhail Nayyar to the mix and the film starts to feel like a mid-budget genre swing that could hit above its weight—if the execution sticks the landing.

This Is Not Your Typical Bollywood Horror

Let’s be clear: Nikita Roy isn’t your jump-scare scream fest or haunted-haveli melodrama. It’s trying to do something edgier. More Andhadhun than 1920.

“It’s a female-led mystery thriller, but not in the typical Bollywood packaging,” Kussh said. The ambition here is to serve audiences a story that’s eerie but elegant, cerebral but still entertaining. That mix is tough to nail—but if it works, it could really work.

The Kajol-Sized Elephant in the Room

Of course, releasing alongside Kajol’s Maa is a flex in itself. Two big female-led films, same Friday? That’s not a clash—that’s a showdown.

But Kussh seems unfazed. “Audiences are smart. If you’re honest in your storytelling, there’s room for both.”

Confidence like that either comes from pure vision or blissful delusion. We’ll find out which soon enough.

So, What’s the Early Buzz?

Select insiders—like Abhinav Kashyap, who served as a creative consultant—have seen the cut. The word? Quietly confident. Kussh’s own family has weighed in too, though he’s quick to remind us they don’t hold back if something sucks.

What’s emerging is a picture of a filmmaker who isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel but is definitely trying to make it spin a little differently.

The Bottom Line

Kussh S. Sinha might have grown up in Bollywood’s deep end, but he’s not coasting on last names. Nikita Roy is his attempt to plant his own creative flag—at the intersection of genre, character, and gutsy storytelling.

Whether it’ll click with audiences or fade into the Friday churn, nobody can say yet. But if you’re tired of haunted houses and heroic cop sagas, this might just be the curveball you’re looking for.

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