Phantom Studios (formerly Phantom Films) is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Madhu Mantena, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, and Vikramaditya Motwane. It was founded in 2011 by all four of them, and was cited as the "directors' company". In March 2015, Reliance Entertainment picked up 50% stake in the company.
The company made its debut in the film industry with its first production, Lootera (2013). Directed by Motwane, the period romance featured actors Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles. The film was a collaboration with Balaji Motion Pictures, serving as a co-producer. Next year, the company co-produced the romantic comedies Hasee Toh Phasee, starring Parineeti Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra and directed by Vinil Mathew, and Queen, directed by Vikas Bahl and starring Kangana Ranaut and Lisa Haydon. Both films were critical and commercial successes, with the latter also winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was followed by the thrillers Ugly, starring Rahul Bhat and Ronit Roy and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and NH10 (2015), directed by Navdeep Singh and starring Anushka Sharma and Neil Bhopalam. The company went on to produce other critically acclaimed projects like Udta Punjab (2016), starring Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor which was directed by Abhishek Chaubey, and 83 (2021), starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone which was directed by Kabir Khan.
In March 2022, the company was renamed to "Phantom Studios" with Srishti Behl at the helm as the CEO. The company co-produced the Amazon Prime period drama series Jubilee (2023). The company partnered with AGS Entertainment and co-produced the 2025 Hindi remake of the 2022 Tamil blockbuster Love Today, which was titled Loveyapa and starred Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor.
Establishment Phantom Films was founded in 2011 by Madhu Mantena, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, and Vikramaditya Motwane, and was cited as the "directors' company". The idea to start their own production house came to mind because of their "constant struggle in convincing producers" every time to believe in the kind of cinema they make.
Films The company's first film was Motwane's period romance Lootera, starring Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. Based on O. Henry's short story, The Last Leaf, the film received high critical acclaim upon release, with particular praise directed towards Sinha and Singh's performance.
Phantom films then went on to collaborate with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions to produce the romantic comedy Hasee Toh Phasee. Starring Parineeti Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra and, the film was directed by the debutant Vinil Mathew. It was followed by the Vikas Bahl-directed comedy-drama Queen, starring Kangana Ranaut and Lisa haydon. The film was a critical and commercial success, it also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Ugly, a drama thriller was the next production venture of Phantom, directed by Anurag Kashyap starring Rahul Bhat and Ronit Roy, which premiered in the Director's Fortnight section of the 2013 Cannes Festival.
In 2015, the company produced Anushka Sharma's NH10, which was directed by Navdeep Singh and the coming of age comedy Hunterrr was directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni, starring Gulshan Devaiah and Radhika Apte. Both films proved to be a success by critics and audiences. Bombay Velvet which was directed by Anurag Kashyap, a period film set in Bombay in the 1960s was next on the release radar, based on the Princeton University Historian Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables the film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma. Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan was Phantom's fourth release of the year, the film marked Vicky Kaushal's debut where he starred alongside Richa Chadda. The film won the FIPRESCI Award and the Promising Future award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Phantom Films continued exploring genres with Vikas Bahl's Shaandaar (2015), starring Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor.
In February 2016, Phantom Films announced that they will co-produce three Gujarati films with Cine Man Productions, a Gujarat-based production company co-founded by Abhishek Jain. Phantom's first release that year was Udta Punjab, a crime drama from the director Abhishek Chaubey starring Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Dilijit Dosanjh, the film documents the substance abuse endemic in the Indian state of Punjab. The film generated controversy when the Central Board of Film Certification demanded extensive censorship before its theatrical release, citing that the portrayal of Punjab in it was negative after the producers of the film filed a lawsuit against the board, the Bombay High Court cleared the film for exhibition with only 1 scene getting trimmed out in the final draft. It was followed by Raman Raghav 2.0, a thriller directed by Anurag Kashyap based on the notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal. The film premiered at the 2016 Sydney Film Festival and the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, in the Director's Fortnight section to receive a positive response. The company's final release of the year was the Gujarati film Wrong Side Raju starring Pratik Gandhi and Asif Basra which was directed by Mikhil Musale.
In March 2017, Phantom released Vikramaditya Motwane's survival drama film Trapped starring Rajkumar Rao and Geetanjali Thapa. This was followed by the release of Mukkabaaz in 2018, starring Vineet Kumar Singh and Zoya Hussain which was directed by Anurag Kashyap. The company went on to release 3 movies later that year, starting with Akarsh Khurana's High Jack starring Sumeet Vyas and Mantra, then they released Bhavesh Joshi Superhero starring Harshvardhan Kapoor and Nishikant Kamat directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, and an other Kashyap's release Manmarziyaan starring Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal and Taapsee Pannu. That year Phantom also released the neo-noir crime-thriller series Sacred Games starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui which was co-directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. Patrick Graham's Ghoul a mini thriller series on Netflix starring Radhika Apte and Manav Kaul. In 2019, Phantom released Super 30 starring Hrithik Roshan and Mrunal Thakur which was directed by Vikas Bahl which was followed by Makrand Mane's Youngraad starring Chaitanya Deore and Shireen Patil. In 2020, they released a comedy-drama; Ghoomketu starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Ragini Khanna which was directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra. The company also worked on 83 starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone which was directed by Kabir Khan. The company was also a co-producer for the 2023 series called Jubilee which was co-produced with Reliance Entertainment starring Aditi Rao Hydari and Aparshakti Khurana which was directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and they worked on the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Love Today (2022) with AGS entertainment.
Dissolution
After an 8-year-long run, the company announced its dissolution on 5 October 2018 due to internal disputes about the alleged MeToo allegations on Bahl by a former Phantom employee, which was reported in 2015. The other three founders, Mantena, Kashyap and Motwane, all issued statements on Twitter confirming the company's disbanding and moving on to independent projects.
Revival In January 2021, Madhu Mantena and Sheetal Talwar bought out Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane's stakes in Phantom to become equal shareholders in the company with Reliance Entertainment. However, shortly before the release of 83, they sold their shares back to Reliance, making it the sole shareholder of Phantom, and left the company. In March 2022, Mantena and Talwar acquired the Phantom Films as well as its film and television library and some film properties from Reliance. They later brought on Srishti Behl to lead the team as CEO and took on a new persona as Phantom Studios.
The team co-produced the Hindi remake of the 2022 Tamil film Love Today, Loveyapa (2025), starring Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor. In October 2024, Mantena divested his 30% stake in Phantom, giving Talwar full control over the company through the Vistaar Group.
Filmography Films produced YearFilmDirectorCastNotes2013LooteraVikramaditya MotwaneRanveer Singh, Sonakshi SinhaCo-produced with Balaji Motion Pictures2014Hasee Toh PhaseeVinil MathewSidharth Malhotra, Parineeti ChopraCo-produced with Dharma ProductionsQueenVikas BahlKangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa HaydonCo-produced with Viacom 18 Motion PicturesUglyAnurag KashyapRahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Girish Kulkarni, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Surveen Chawla2015NH10Navdeep SinghAnushka Sharma, Neil BhoopalamCo-produced with Clean Slate FilmsHunterrrHarshavardhan KulkarniGulshan Devaiah, Radhika ApteCo-produced with Tailormade FilmsBombay VelvetAnurag KashyapRanbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan JoharMasaanNeeraj GhaywanRicha Chadda, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Vicky KaushalCo-produced with Drishyam Films, Macassar Productions, Sikhya Entertainment, Pathé and Arte France CinémaShaandaarVikas BahlShahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pankaj KapurCo-produced with Dharma Productions2016Udta PunjabAbhishek ChaubeyKareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Diljit DosanjhCo-produced with Balaji Motion PicturesRaman Raghav 2.0Anurag KashyapNawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Sobhita DhulipalaWrong Side RajuMikhil MusalePratik Gandhi, Asif Basra, Kavi ShastriGujarati film Co-produced with CineMan Productions2017TrappedVikramaditya MotwaneRajkummar Rao, Geetanjali Thapa2018MukkabaazAnurag KashyapVineet Kumar Singh, Ravi Kishan, Jimmy ShergillCo-produced with Reliance Entertainment and Colour Yellow ProductionsHigh JackAkarsh KhuranaSumeet Vyas, Mantra, Sonnalli SeygallYoungraadMakrand ManeVitthal Patil, Chaitanya DeoreBhavesh Joshi SuperheroVikramaditya MotwaneHarshvardhan Kapoor, Priyanshu Painyuli, Nishikant KamatManmarziyaanAnurag KashyapTaapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Abhishek BachchanCo-produced with Colour Yellow Productions2019Super 30Vikas BahlHrithik Roshan, Mrunal ThakurCo-produced with Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment2020GhoomketuPushpendra Nath MisraNawazuddin Siddiqui, Ragini Khanna, Anurag KashyapCo-produced with Sony Pictures Networks Productions202183Kabir KhanRanveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Saqib Saleem, Pankaj Tripathi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Hardy Sandhu, Ammy VirkCo-produced with Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, KA Production, Vibri Media and Reliance Entertainment2025LoveyapaAdvait ChandanKhushi Kapoor, Junaid Khan, Grusha Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Tanvika Parlikar, Kiku ShardaCo-produced with AGS Entertainment2026 Laikey Laikaa Saurabh Gupta Rasha Thadani, Abhay Verma Co-produced with N2O Films
Films distributed YearFilmLanguageDirectorCast2014KatiyabaazHindiDeepti Kakkar, Fahad MustafaLoha Singh, Ritu Maheshwari2016Tere Bin Laden: Dead or AliveHindiAbhishek SharmaManish Paul, Sikander Kher, Pradhuman Singh Mall, Mia Uyeda, Piyush MishraNannaku PremathoTeluguSukumarJr. Ntr, Jagapathi Babu, Rakul Preet Singh
Series YearSeriesDirector(s)Original networkCastNotes2018 – 2019Sacred GamesAnurag Kashyap Vikramaditya MotwaneNetflixSaif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte2018GhoulPatrick GrahamRadhika Apte, Manav KaulCo-produced with Blumhouse Television and Ivanhoe Pictures2023JubileeVikramaditya MotwaneAmazon Prime VideoAparshakti Khurana, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa GabbiCo-produced with Reliance Entertainment and Andolan Films
Awards