The dynamic director-producer duo of Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan have returned with the highly-anticipated sequel 'Stree 2', which was released on Wednesday night, a day prior to its scheduled release of Thursday. It brings back a stellar cast comprising Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurrana, reprising their roles. 'Stree 2' is the classic example of how a sequel should be made and continuing with the magic it's predecessor created.
The story picks up right from where 'Stree' concluded. While residents of Chanderi are not out of their fear of the street, they have now started to worship her. However, they soon realise that they aren't truly out from the clutches of horror, as 'Sarkata' returns to Chanderi.
A mukhiya (village head) who was killed by Stree turns 'Sarkata' and abducts women who are modern in their thinking or as Rudra (Tripathi) explains, "Agar aap WhatsApp chalati hai ya social media par hai, toh aap kataar mai hai." But Sarkata’s best definition is explained by Jana (Banerjee): "Woh jiska sar kata hua hai." As women of Chanderi are pushed back to times when they weren't allowed to step out of the house, they seek their refuge in the charming but hilarious lover boy Bicky (Rao), who is destined to fight Sarkata.
The film's screenplay and dialogue writer Naren Bhatt needs to take a bow for giving exactly what the audience was expecting from the viewers. 'Stree 2' is packed with brilliant punchlines, especially in the first half of the movie. Bhatt's writing was enhanced by two folds, thanks to the spectacular ensemble cast.
Vicky's undying love for Kapoor's unnamed character is both innocent and funny. He is scared to fight the ghost but also the one who does the daring. Jana is one of the most beautiful character creations of this film.
More than the character, it is how Banerjee has performed. He is dumb, wants to crack the UPSC, has a 'kukurmutta' physique, but is extremely funny with his mannerisms and innocence. Banerjee impresses with his versatility as an actor, for he is the same guy who played the psychotic ‘Hathoda’ in 'Pataal Lok'.
Just like Rao and Banerjee, Tripathi is also equally brilliant in the movie. As Rudra, he keeps a poker face throughout, and yet delivers his dialogues in rib-tickling way. Khurrana as Bittu and Shraddha are also the actors you will fall in love with.
However, Shraddha's performance is overshadowed by the male cast. In all, these five actors who form the backbone of 'Stree' are nothing short of a dream cast for a director. Moving forward, if dialogues, story and performances aren't reasons enough for you to watch the film, then wait for the number of cameos it has to offer -- the big surprise comes after the interval.
While 'Stree 2' has kicked nearly all the boxes of being the perfect film, there are only a handful of areas where it probably didn't beat its prequel. The music isn't at par with that of the original film, though the background score has worked perfectly. Another factor that left me tad-bit disappointed is the climax -- it feels a little stretched.
If you're still wondering whether to watch it in theatres or not, then be assured that 'Stree 2' is worth every penny. It is the family entertainer that we all had been looking forward to..
