Before Brahmastra, Bollywood Was Already Building Shared Worlds
Bollywood has long understood the commercial value of a successful character. A popular hero returns in sequels, a memorable villain gets another story, and a recognizable title becomes a dependable box-office asset. Yet a cinematic universe demands a different level of planning: separate films must share characters, institutions, mythology, or continuity while remaining satisfying on their own.
Before Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva arrived in 2022, Hindi cinema had already tested several versions of this idea. Some attempts were built around police officers and spies, while others relied on recurring supporting characters, connected genres, or hints of a larger fictional world. Most were franchises before they became true universes.
The history is important because Brahmastra did not emerge in isolation. Its Astraverse concept, planned trilogy, supernatural mythology, and proposed spin-offs reflected a growing interest in long-form franchise storytelling. Earlier Bollywood experiments revealed both the possibilities and the risks of connecting major films.
From sequels to shared worlds
The traditional Hindi film franchise usually followed one central protagonist. The Krrish films, for example, created a superhero continuity around Rohit Mehra and his transformed identity, but they did not bring together unrelated heroes. Similarly, the Don films functioned as a remake-driven series rather than a broad shared universe, with different versions of the character existing in separate continuities.
This distinction matters. A sequel extends one story, whereas a cinematic universe allows several storylines to develop across different films. A shared police department, intelligence agency, fictional city, or mythology can connect characters who otherwise have little reason to meet. Bollywood producers gradually began experimenting with these structures because they offered repeat audiences and opportunities for crossover events.
The earliest successful examples were often accidental. Filmmakers discovered that audiences enjoyed recurring names, familiar institutions, and surprise appearances. Those ingredients later became the foundation for more deliberate franchise planning.
How Dhoom created a repeatable formula
The Dhoom series was one of the clearest early examples of a Hindi film world built around a continuing framework. The first film, released in 2004, introduced police officer ACP Jai Dixit, played by Abhishek Bachchan, and his comic partner Ali, portrayed by Uday Chopra. The criminals changed in every installment, but the investigative team and the larger law-and-order setting remained recognizable.
Dhoom 2 brought Hrithik Roshan into the series as a stylish international thief, while Dhoom 3 centered on Aamir Khan in a dual role. Each film offered a new action spectacle, new locations, and a different antagonist while preserving the franchise’s identity. This gave the series the flexibility of an anthology without abandoning continuity.
It was not a cinematic universe in the modern crossover sense. Jai and Ali remained the connecting thread, and the films did not create multiple independent branches. Still, the franchise demonstrated that audiences would accept major stars entering an established world as long as the tone, visual language, and recurring characters were strong.
YRF spies moved toward crossover storytelling
Yash Raj Films developed a more expansive model through its spy films. Ek Tha Tiger introduced Salman Khan as Indian intelligence agent Avinash Singh Rathore, known as Tiger, in 2012. Tiger Zinda Hai continued his story and expanded the scale of the fictional intelligence world, placing the character in a setting that felt larger than a single mission.
War, released in 2019, introduced Hrithik Roshan as Kabir and Tiger Shroff as Khalid. Although it did not initially depend on a major crossover, it shared the broad spy-thriller ecosystem associated with YRF’s production strategy. Later films made the connection explicit, especially when Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan appeared alongside Tiger in Pathaan.
Before Brahmastra, the YRF spy model showed how separate star vehicles could gradually become a shared universe. The approach relied on recognizable agencies, elite agents, recurring political stakes, and carefully timed cameos. It also proved that a crossover could function as a major marketing event rather than a minor Easter egg.
The following comparison shows how these pre-Brahmastra experiments differed in scale and design.
| Franchise or model | First major film | Connecting element | Universe strength before Brahmastra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhoom | 2004 | Recurring police leads and crime-world format | Strong franchise continuity |
| Krrish | 2006 | One superhero’s continuing origin and adventures | Standalone superhero saga |
| YRF spy films | 2012 | Intelligence agencies and connected agents | Emerging shared universe |
| Rohit Shetty cop films | 2011 | Police characters and crossover cameos | Active crossover universe |
| Horror-comedy network | 2018 | Supernatural folklore and linked creatures | Early shared mythology |
Rohit Shetty turned cameos into a strategy
The Rohit Shetty cop universe began with Singham in 2011. Ajay Devgn played Bajirao Singham, an upright police officer whose dramatic style and mass appeal made the film a major success. Singham Returns continued his story in 2014, strengthening the character as a durable action brand.
The larger universe took shape with Simmba in 2018. Ranveer Singh played the corrupt-turned-righteous police officer Sangram Bhalerao, a character who occupied the same broad cinematic space as Singham. Ajay Devgn’s appearance as Singham transformed the connection from a thematic similarity into a direct crossover.
Sooryavanshi developed the concept further by introducing Akshay Kumar as DCP Veer Sooryavanshi. The film brought together Singham, Simmba, and Sooryavanshi as a team, using their shared police identity as the central hook. The formula was clear: establish individual stars through separate films, then combine them in a large-scale event.
This was one of Bollywood’s most visible universe-building attempts before Brahmastra. It showed the power of star combinations, but it also revealed the production challenge involved in balancing several leading personalities, tones, and story arcs within one film.
Superheroes and horror offered different possibilities
The Krrish series was Bollywood’s most recognizable superhero continuity before Brahmastra. Beginning with Koi... Mil Gaya in 2003 and continuing through Krrish and Krrish 3, the films created a family-based mythology involving alien technology, inherited powers, and superhuman villains. Its world was larger than a single origin story, but it remained centered on one lineage.
Other superhero projects attempted to create wider connections, though most remained isolated. Films such as Ra.One and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag—despite their different genres and ambitions—showed that star-led Hindi cinema often preferred complete stories rather than contractual crossover planning. Rumors of shared superhero projects appeared regularly, but few progressed into an established continuity.
The horror-comedy space became more promising with Stree in 2018. Its supernatural folklore, small-town setting, and references to other strange phenomena created room for expansion. Bhediya later strengthened that possibility through a character appearance connected to Stree. Although this development came partly after Brahmastra, the early success of Stree helped demonstrate that Indian mythology and local folklore could support a connected genre universe.
What these experiments taught filmmakers
The pre-Brahmastra period offered several practical lessons. First, a shared universe needs a strong entry point. Audiences must care about individual characters before a crossover can feel meaningful. Singham, Tiger, and Krrish each built their own appeal before becoming part of a larger franchise conversation.
Second, continuity needs to be planned without becoming restrictive. The YRF spy films benefited from flexible connections, while the cop universe depended on more visible meetings. Both models allowed producers to create anticipation, but each required careful scheduling, consistent characterization, and enough space between releases.
Third, marketing cannot replace storytelling. A surprise cameo may create headlines, yet a universe survives only when every film has a satisfying plot. Dhoom remained popular because its individual entries offered distinctive villains and action styles. The strongest shared worlds use crossover moments as rewards, not substitutes for substance.
A practical viewing route through Bollywood’s connected worlds
- Begin with Dhoom to see how recurring heroes can support changing villains and escalating action.
- Watch Koi... Mil Gaya, Krrish, and Krrish 3 as a compact superhero continuity.
- Follow Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, and War to understand the early YRF spy framework.
- Pair Singham and Simmba before watching Sooryavanshi for the full cop-universe effect.
- Add Stree to explore how Indian folklore and horror-comedy can open another shared mythology.
These films reveal that Bollywood’s road to Brahmastra was built through several different experiments rather than one single blueprint. Some used recurring protagonists, some introduced crossover cameos, and others connected characters through genre and mythology. Together, they prepared audiences for a more ambitious fantasy universe with planned chapters and multiple heroes.
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