Stree 2 Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor return with a laugh-riot that is not without flaws

It all started in 2018 with Stree. Written by Raj and DK and helmed by then-debutant director Amar Kaushik, the film dexterously fused rooted humour with horror tropes. It was also generously sprinkled with able performances by Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana and Pankaj Tripathi. Watching it had reminded me of Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2008), its snappy one-liners and the first time I was convinced of horror-comedy as a genre. Stree also wasn’t without purpose. Draped in zaniness and witticisms, it served as a Trojan Horse in selling lessons of feminism and consent to the family audience and on top of that, magically managed to be non-preachy.

Directed by: Amar Kaushik

Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana

In that sense, Stree 2 is a true-blue sequel. Different animal, but in a scene our quartet of desi ghostbusters-- Vicky (Rajkummar), Rudra (Pankaj), Jana (Abhishek) and Bittu (Aparshakti)--actually get below a fake, wooden elephant and try to make a run for it. Their object of fear is a towering ‘daitya’ (demon) who literally loses his head (and sets it rolling) if he sees a modern woman. This entity, straight out of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is kidnapping liberated girls of good-old Chanderi and keeping them bald, mum and hostage, dressed in a white saree in a heavily CGI-ed version of patriarchy hell (full with rivers of lava and looping precipices). He also has a score to settle with ‘Stree’. Now it is up to our motley group of loafers to save the town once again.

Stree 2 starts with cautious steps. After a song which retells the events of the first film, we still get gags and jokes which sometimes build upon and other times are callbacks to the original. It’s not that it’s not funny but the laughs soon start feeling borrowed. Niren Bhatt’s screenplay, however, is a fitting add-on that doesn’t meander in overly ambitious and ultimately chaotic spaces. As is the case with every other Hindi-comedy recently, the referential humour is strong with this one (Courtesy: The Marvel Cinematic Universe). There are references to Animal (2023) and Rockstar (2011) and in a throwaway line Pankaj Tripathi’s Rudra is cheekily called ‘Atal’. The comedy gets more slapstick (Vicky and Jana actually get whacked in the face atleast once) but the performances manage to sell the absurdities of the plot. Rajkummar Rao can ham away with conviction while Pankaj Tripathi is quick with slipping in jokes even in the most mundane of scenes. Shraddha Kapoor and Aparshakti Khurana remain consistent with their characters, but the most enjoyable is Abhishek Banerjee’s Jana, who sadly but funnily always gets the short end of a stick.

The relentlessly sharp wordplays wake you up when the shrieks get numbingly louder. Special appearance is hilariously called ‘special experience’ and intermittent fasting becomes ‘intimate feasting’. However, what Stree 2 suffers from is the need to further the Maddock Supernatural Universe (MSU). So much so that it lets go of narrative logic. A certain furry friend makes an appearance, as does a certain superstar. Just like that of Munjya, the climax of Stree 2 turns into a screaming contest. The film’s pacing suffers and at times it feels like the makers are running out of ideas.

Beneath all the fun and frolic, Stree, in its own comic way poked holes in the stringent gender norms prevalent in society. The sequel does try with lines like ‘woh Stree hain purush nahi jo zabardasti utha le jayein’ (She is a woman, not a man who forcefully abducts people). As the headless ghost wreaks havoc, the women of Chanderi line-up at Vicky’s garment shop to appropriate their blouses. The men, overtaken by a ‘patriarchy spell’ take out rallies, telling the women to stay at home and taking over all activities of the grand pooja around which both Stree and Stree 2 are set. But all this gets sidelined soon as the film gets loaded with cameos, special effects, strenuous jokes and two post-credit songs. Once the evil forces are defeated and the men are liberated from their misogyny, the women reclaim the streets and proceed to conduct the final aarti. If only the world was as easy as they show in the movies.