Anand Tiwari admits that in the days leading to a film’s release, he usually becomes a ball of nerves. “I’ve done everything I could, and now it belongs to the audience,” he says of Bad Newz, starring Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri and Ammy Virk. For his first big-screen offering, the director has created a comedy about heteropaternal superfecundation—it revolves around a woman, who becomes pregnant with twins fathered by two different men. The story’s novelty drew him, he says. “I loved the draft that Ishita [Moitra, writer] wrote. First, my business partner, Amritpal [Bindra], and Sumeet Vyas tried to [expand on] it, then we got Tarun Dudeja [writer].” 

In the past, Tiwari directed OTT offerings, including Love Per Square Foot (2018), Bandish Bandits (2020) and Maja Ma (2022). Bad Newz, with its laugh-out-loud moments, has a different tonality from his past creations. “I find bhasad very entertaining,” he laughs. “We grew up on David Dhawan films. Messed-up relationships give Bad Newz a tonality that goes beyond the central topic. There are many more layers in it. I come from a big family; I have rejoiced in my family’s bhasad. So, I enjoy the nuances of family dynamics. As a Matunga boy, I grew up on comedies that played at Gaiety-Galaxy. It helps me be the storyteller I am. Somehow, we make fewer comedies now.”