The ‘Special Thanks’ in the film credits at the fag end includes among others, ‘The Killing’ Akshay Kumar and ‘The Howling’ Varun Dhawan.
Quite simply, Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank, the sequel to Stree (2018), springs some pleasant surprises and not just these two; there’s Tamanna Bhatia as well with a sizzling item number that can match, step by step, any other item song in recent memory. Then, Varun is a bhediya (fox) in the shape of a man, who falls desperately in love with Shraddha Kapoor who is back as ‘She’, nameless, and Stree’s daughter.
So Stree 2 is not just glued to the horror-comedy genre, it goes beyond. And going by the numbers jingling at the Box Office, the masses are simply loving it – this experimentation. Stree 2, the horror-comedy universe, backed by Dinesh Vijan, is already a super-duper hit.
As for Akshay Kumar, director Amar Kaushik has revealed that he had offered Stree 2 to him in a street in London while they were filming for Sky Force.
The Khiladi-fame Kumar is introduced in Stree 2 as the new antagonist, a presumably supervillain who would make a bigger comeback in a future Maddock Supernatural Universe movie.
The remains of the antagonist, Sarkata (an entity without a head), are seen in the scene landing at Akshay’s door. The fact that the remains enter his body as he opens it suggests he is Sarkata and that he will play a bigger part in the future instalment.
Stree 2 is the fifth instalment in the Maddock Supernatural Universe.
Now, what kind of part Akshay will play, and the movie in which he will make a comeback, we don’t know yet. But the Khiladi sure leaves enough guessing to do for movie buffs.
Coming to the plot, after being shown love and respect by the people of Chanderi, Stree ceased to haunt the town about a year ago. A headless ghost who kidnaps women at night and transports them across a portal into another dimension is currently haunting the town. Unaware of the ghost’s presence, the locals assume the women are moving on to pursue better futures and professional chances. Vicky (Rajkummar Rao), who is still madly in love with the girl with no name, sometimes known as ‘She’, misses her and imagines her walking up to him and striking up a conversation. An anonymous letter bearing shredded pages from the Chanderi Puran and the mysterious words ‘He Will Come’ is delivered to Rudra Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi).
First things first. Despite its humungous performance at the Box Office, Stree 2 fails to match the spontaneity, charm, and magic of the original Stree.
The original, which had turned out to be a surprise hit in 2018, had a certain element of mystifying and deep emotional connection, an interconnectedness of events that were more rationally explained, and of course, the pristine elements of the natural and supernatural.
Stree 2 is more into the genre of a masala movie with a far larger canvas where the different elements pull you in different directions. This is not to say that the collective of narratives is not charming. They do attract you keeping you glued to your seat.
Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana have all done the hard work and it shows. But the plot, which lags behind its original instalment, is not as taut, hampers their efforts.
The comical scenes are well-improvised by the cast, as we learn, including one by Akshay, where he suggested Abhishek Banerjee sit in his lap has gone viral.
All in all, despite its flaws, an eminently watchable movie.
Cast
Rajkummar Rao as Vicky
Shraddha Kapoor as She, nameless pantheism and Stree’s daughter
Pankaj Tripathi as Rudra
Abhishek Banerjee as Jana, Vicky’s friend
Aparshakti Khurana as Bittu, Vicky’s friend
