Original’s
goodwill,
natural
bonhomie
amongst
the
actors
and
wild
card
entries,Stree
2‘s
spirited
return
sure
has
its
high
points,
notes
Sukanya
Verma.
Back
in
2018,
Stree‘s
allegorical
activism
figured
a
droll
way
to
elevate
the
horror
comedy
space
with
its
blend
of
meaning,
mayhem
and
mirth.
There
was
undeniable
pleasure
in
watching
Chanderi’s
mortified
men
scurrying
about
in
fear
as
a
resentful
lady
ghost
aka
Stree
paid
an
annual
visit
and
wreaked
havoc
on
its
male
population.
And
so
would
be
the
norm
until
a
ladies
tailor
Vicky
(Rajkummar
Rao)
and
his
band
of
buddies
Bittu
(Aparshakti
Khurana)
and
Janna
(Abhishek
Banerjee)
along
with
supernatural
specialist
Rudra
(Pankaj
Tripathi)
and
a
mysterious,
anonymous
know-it-all
(Shraddha
Kapoor)
reluctantly
combined
forces
and
found
ingenious
ways
to
soothe
Stree’s
ruffled
feathers.
Based
on
the
characters
originally
created
by
director
duo
Raj
and
DK
six
years
ago,
Amar
Kaushik
returns
to
helm
its
largely
enjoyable
sequel,
Stree
2:
Sarkate
Ka
Aatank
penned
by
Niren
Bhatt,
in
hopes
to
cash
in
on
its
soaring
popularity
in
wake
of
fans
theorising
the
significance
behind
Shraddha’s
bewitching
braid
and
the
possibilities
of
Stree’s
unfinished
business.
Once
a
source
of
distress,
Stree
is
now
part
of
a
lore
celebrating
her
presence
and
praying
for
her
patronage
across
skits
and
songs.
Except
Chanderi’s
troubles
are
far
from
over.
In
a
reversal
of
roles,
a
new
devil
is
in
town
and
hounds
its
women
folk,
the
more
modern
her
thoughts,
the
sooner
she
disappears
from
sight.
Evoking
Sleepy
Hollow‘s
headless
horseman
in
legend,
this
decapitated
menace
comes
on
foot
and
bears
a
nasty
connection
to
Stree’s
history
as
conveyed
over
a
flimsily
concocted
backstory.
Prompted
by
the
vanishing
of
Bittu’s
girlfriend
(Anya
Singh)
and
Rudra’s
muse
(a
glamorous
Tamannaah
Bhatia),
the
goofy
foursome
and
the
girl
with
prehensile
hair
powers
must
work
together
to
take
down
an
evil
that
can
multiply
like
Gremlins
and
turn
the
town’s
men
into
misogynist
robots
as
easily
as
the
Blanks
from
The
World’s
End.
It’s
not
just
the
Stranger
Things-influenced
art
on
Stree
2
poster
but
the
teamwork
on
display
too
draws
blatant
inspiration
from
the
adolescent
heroes
of
Hawkins
and
freakish
threats
of
Upside
Down.
Right
from
Bittu
humming
a
parody
(Soft
Chitty)
of
The
Big
Bang
Theory
lullaby
(Soft
Kitty)
to
Vicky
channelling
Arthurian
legends
in
Excalibur-sized
goals,
Stree
2‘s
Western
inspirations
are
in
complete
contrast
to
Stree‘s
homegrown
fears
and
fantasy.
Despite
its
disappointing
lack
of
originality,
Stree
2
advances
cheerfully
on
the
strength
of
its
free
flowing
wit
and
a
cast
only
too
happy
to
reprise
one
of
the
most
adored
roles
of
their
career.
Initially,
the
scenes
play
out
like
one
happy
reunion,
which
underscore
the
Stree
universe’s
enduring
charm
as
well
as
the
sequel’s
sure-shot
success
irrespective
of
whether
it
would
deliver
on
the
promise
of
bigger
and
better.
Does
it
then?
Truth
be
told,
male
ghosts
are
more
ridiculous
than
eerie
in
their
impact.
Sarkata,
a
mix
of
orc
and
Ramsay’s
Saamri
in
appearance
and
stature,
cannot
hold
a
candle
before
Stree’s
chilling
corpse
bride.
The
battle
of
the
sexes
is
more
literal
than
figurative.
Shabby
VFX
only
adds
to
the
comicality
of
the
B-grade
visuals,
which
doesn’t
hurt
given
the
buffoonery
at
play.
Though
its
politics
is
still
on
point
and
smashing
the
pitrisatta
(patriarchy)
remains
its
underlying
purpose,
the
satire
side
of
Stree
takes
a
backseat
to
meet
the
franchise
targets
of
Maddock
Horror
Universe.
Stree
2‘s
ambitions
are
obvious
in
how
it
tries
to
merge
the
multiverse
over
a
crowd-pleasing
Bhediya
crossover
in
addition
to
a
Khiladi-shaped
cameo
that’s
so
bizarre
and
unexpected,
you
cannot
help
but
feel
amused.
Chuckles
are
a
constant
over
the
course
of
Stree
2
as
it
doles
out
one-liners
by
the
second.
Be
it
the
wordplay
in
‘virgin
tel
healthy
hota
hai
male
nahi‘
quips
of
‘tum
Bitoo
ho
Neha
Kakkar
nahi‘
in
nature
or
hilarious-in-context
rejoinders
like
‘Covid
ho
gaya
tha‘.
He’s
played
quite
a
few
doe-eyed
characters
since
Vicky
yet
monotony
doesn’t
touch
any
part
of
Rajkummar
Rao’s
lovestruck
fool
and
hesitant
hero.
A
charismatic
Shraddha
Kapoor
intensifies
in
form
and
formidability
even
as
Aparshakti
Khurana,
Abhishek
Banerjee
and
Pankaj
Tripathi
continue
to
be
indispensable
in
their
humour
supply.
Original’s
goodwill,
natural
bonhomie
amongst
the
actors
and
wild
card
entries,
Stree
2‘s
spirited
return
sure
has
its
high
points.
Especially
when
a
bunch
of
scared
boys
hide
behind
heaps
of
bangles
while
the
girl
whips
the
baddie
with
her
all-powerful
pigtail.
Chanderi
Puran
is
ready
to
add
new
chapters
to
the
spectacle.
‘Stree
3‘s
kal
aana‘
is
as
inevitable
as
the
purush
threatened
by
it.
Stree
2
Review
Rediff
Rating:
