“Box office is kind of a sucker punch. It really knocks you out. I'm still waking up from that,” Vasan Bala said while reflecting on the commercial failure of his 2024 Alia Bhatt jailbreak thriller, ‘Jigra’. Well, the good news is that the multifaceted filmmaker is healing well and has already set his sights on the next project. 

PeepingMoon.com has learned that Vasan Bala is next directing an OTT film for Matchbox Shots, the acclaimed production house behind titles like ‘Andhadhun,’ ‘Scoop,’ ‘Three of Us,’ and ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.’ This collaboration marks his second outing with the banner following the success of their 2022 Netflix release, ‘Monica, O My Darling,’ a neo-noir crime comedy with Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Apte, and Huma Qureshi.

It is believed to be in the space of Vasan Bala’s signature storytelling style, blending quirky humour, thrilling twists, and unconventional narratives. The film is in the final stage of scripting and will soon enter casting, with production slated to commence early next year. Vasan Bala is reportedly focusing on OTT projects to tell stories he believes in, free from the box office pressures. He is also in talks with ‘The Family Man’ creators Raj & DK to direct an action project for their banner D2R Films.

Meanwhile, Matchbox Shots — led by Sanjay Routray, Sarita Patil, and Dikssha Routray — has multiple projects lined up, including the Netflix series ‘Operation Safed Sagar,’ directed by Asur fame Oni Sen and starring Siddharth, Jimmy Sheirgill, Dia Mirza, and Abhay Verma. The banner is also developing films with ‘Darlings’ director Jasmeet K. Reen and ‘Munjya’ writer Yogesh Chandekar.