Coming on the set of Stree 2 right after finishing Jubilee took some adjusting for Aparshakti Khurana but he is not complaining as it's not often that an actor gets to work on two contrasting projects so early in their career.
Aparshakti made his film debut with 2016's megahit Dangal and went on to garner attention for his comic timing in movies like Stree and Luka Chuppi. Cut to 2023, he emerged as the breakout performer in Vikramaditya Motwane's period drama series Jubilee, in which he played a servile Binod Das who later becomes film star Madan Kumar.
Basking in the commercial and critical success of Amar Kaushik's Stree sequel, Aparshakti is happy that things are moving in the right direction for him.
"People spend their lives waiting to be part of projects like these. It happened so early for me in my career. And coming onto the set of Stree 2 after (Jubilee)... these are two different spaces, the storytelling, acting, the look, even the eyes, everything is different. Both these projects have given me a lot of good fortune and love. I am looking forward to Stree 3,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
Stree 2, the latest title from producer Dinesh Vijan's ambitious horror comedy universe, takes off after the events of 2018's Stree where the ghost of a courtesan, who was wronged in her mortal life, comes back to Chanderi to help Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and his friends fight a new mystical enemy called Sarkata.
The second part also stars Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Abhishek Banerjee. Dinesh has already announced that they are moving ahead with Stree 3.
Aparshakti said it is thanks to Dinesh, Amar and writer Niren Bhatt that most of the cast and crew that worked on the first film in the franchise returned for the sequel.
"It doesn't happen often that all people who were part of the first film in a franchise would be back for the second one bringing growth in their individual space. It is extremely amazing if that happens,” he said.
"But at the same time, there might be a problem putting them together again because all those people are returning along with their own journeys, successes, and growth." The 36-year-old actor said the top brass on Stree 2 ensured everyone was "calm and composed" while working on the much anticipated second part, which has grossed Rs 400 at the global box office within a week of its release.
"Even during narrations, (they would) keep everyone calm and composed so that we don't need to take the stress that we are making the second part, that we have to do numbers or that we are coming from our own journeys,” he said.
"The way we went into Stree 2 was exactly the way we went into the first film. And the result is for everyone to see. There is this love and respect for each other. That friendship is there on and off the camera," he added.
One of the film's highlights is Aparshakti’s character Bittu singing "Soft Chitty", a hilarious Indian spin to the popular lullaby "Soft Kitty", which features in the American series "The Big Bang Theory". He sings the song to put his girlfriend Chitty (Anya Singh) to sleep.
The actor, who can more than carry a tune, said he was rolling with laughter when Niren told him about this song during the narration.
"I laughed so hard that my stomach started to hurt. Performing that scene was equally fun. And, when I watched it on screen, I laughed even more," he added.
Stree 2 is being praised for seamlessly blending laughs with scares and Aparshakti is happy that he got to add another layer to Bittu, who gets hypnotised by Sarkata and starts believing in supreme patriarchy.
"At one point, you are doing comedy and getting scared by the horror and then, suddenly, you go over to the other side. That's what made me extremely happy and excited about pulling this off. When my eyes go white, I think he becomes a different character that I had to catch on to playing. All in all, I'm happy how these layers have been accepted by the audience."
