Stree 2 Movie Review: The Film’s Sharp Direction, Strong Performances, and Effective Dialogue Ensure it is a Worthwhile Watch

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

Director: Amar Kaushik

Where to Watch: In Theaters

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars)

Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor‘s film Stree 2 has been released today. This film came to the theatres on the special occasion of Independence Day. Does it have a balanced tadka of horror and comedy like before or is it a dull ride? Read our review before going to watch the film. It is not easy to create such a virtual world of fictional characters on the big screen that the audience considers their own world and starts feeling a sense of belonging to its characters. Six years ago, the famous writer-director duo Raj and DK handed over a story to producer Dinesh Vijan and director Amar Kaushik, Stree. A woman kidnaps the men of a small town. The reason is that she was burnt alive along with her lover. Eventually, the anger of Stree calms down and she herself Becomes the protector of that town. The walls on which earlier it was written, ‘O Stree Kal Aana’, now have ‘O Stree Raksha Karna’ written on them! But, what will happen when this woman leaves this town? The story of the film Stree 2 is as much as you have seen in its trailer, but its undercurrent is very deadly. Somewhat like the situation in the country, where everyone starts following someone blindly.

If cinema does not comment on the society of its time, then it is not called cinema. In the film Stree 2 too, its writer Niren Bhatt has woven a small story amidst all the entertaining masalas, which those who understand will definitely understand. What is the condition of women in the houses of social workers who talk big outside? Is the modernity of women still accepted in small towns? Is it the ‘dharma’ of a wife to cook, cook, and sleep with her husband if she wishes? And, what does the patriarchal society want, when a woman wants to create her own world according to her wishes? The film presents all these questions without saying or revealing them, with such an entertaining story, as if someone has fed a quinine pill to a child by placing it in a rasgulla. But when the audience becomes a part of that world and starts getting scared and laughing, they understand that the fort is conquered. Director Amar Kaushik has not missed a single thing in this matter of scaring and making people laugh. In Stree 2, along with the charm of the characters of Part One, some shocking characters have been added. This time the combination of comedy and horror is no less deadly.

Stree 2 Movie Review: The Story Plot

Stree 2 begins from where Stree ended. Vicky (Rajkumar Rao), Bittu (Aparshakti Khurana), and Rudra Bhaiya (Pankaj Tiwari) are living with the rest of the villagers in Chanderi. Even today, there are discussions about Stree here. But people are no longer living in fear of her, rather her story is being narrated at fairs and plays are being performed. Children are playing with Stree’s name and scaring each other. On the other hand, after a big explosion in the forest, someone has come to Chanderi, who is going to make life miserable for the people living here again. Slowly, the girls living in Chanderi started leaving it. No one has noticed that the girls are not leaving the village on their own will but are disappearing. A demon named ‘Sarakta’ is after them. On the other hand, due to the departure of the girls, Vicky’s cool dad (Atul Srivastava) has started worrying about his son’s ‘loneliness’. Vicky is still madly in love with the nameless unknown girl (Shraddha Kapoor) who came to save the people of Chanderi from Stree. He thinks about her every moment and is waiting for her to return someday. Meanwhile, when the Sarkata ghost reaches Vicky and his friends, then the girl has to return. Now everyone will face the Sarkata ghost together.

Stree 2 Movie Review and Analysis

Stree 2 is a perfect example of how an entertaining film should be. The story has the right balance of horror and comedy. The message given through the story without preaching to anyone makes this film an ideal film. I was a little disappointed with this film in the first half, the reason for this was Shraddha Kapoor‘s entry. Her entry in the story was a little late. But the second half resolved all my complaints. Stree is a great film, which you can enjoy with the whole family. Stree 2 can be called the best offering of this supernatural universe of Maddock Films with Jio Studios to date. Usually, there is not much applause at film screenings for the media, forget about the whistles, but there was applause at the screening of this film and whistles were heard at one or two places. The entire theatre was full, usually 50-60 percent of media persons were present at the screening. But this press show was different. You can definitely watch a film that will make those people laugh, whose expressions do not change while watching the film.

Although I always talk about the director of the film first. But this time I will start with the writer. Making part 2 of any film is very difficult for the makers because here they have the responsibility to make the best product from their own best product. The credit for making Stree 2 better than Stree 1 goes to writer Niren Bhatt, Niren had also worked on Bhediya and Munjya. Niren also uses emotions a lot in horror comedy films and that is why his stories win our hearts. In Bhediya, he said that the real monster is not the wolf but the humans who tear our nature apart day by day. In Munjya, he introduced us to many strong female characters, who can control any power when the time comes. In Stree 2 too, Niren Bhatt has presented a new angle to the story by telling the story of Sirkata, how the women of Chanderi village got relief because of Stree, how the confidence of women was increasing because of Stree who used to take away men.

Even today, many people do not like women coming out of the responsibility of the kitchen and living their lives according to their own wishes. Whenever a rape case comes to light, questions are raised about the intentions and clothes of women. Recently, Vishal Pandey’s family, who commented on Armaan Malik’s wife in Bigg Boss OTT 3, even said this about Kritika, that she deliberately comes in front of boys wearing tight clothes. This is the thinking of people living in big cities, then it is better not to talk about small towns and villages. The best thing about Stree 2 was that through the story of Sirkate, Niren has tried to give bitter medicine to many people with narrow thinking through a film full of entertainment. Niren made half of Amar Kaushik’s work easy with his script. Otherwise, forget about the second part of the film, no one can control Raj and DK’s thinking.

Amar Kaushik keeps us hooked on this film from the beginning till the end. Along with horror and comedy, Amar has also logically directed the action scenes. There are scenes with Sirkata in the entire film that make you scream. In English, it is said ‘Expect the unexpected’, we feel the same after watching Stree 2, because before what we think happens, a new twist comes in the story. Along with the writer and directors, the actors also deserve the credit for making this film engaging. After the story, if there is any hero in this film, then it is ‘Sirkata’ and Shraddha Kapoor gives giving tough fight to Sirkata in acting. Shraddha Kapoor wins the hearts of the audience as always with her acting and action. Looking at Rajkumar Rao, it is hard to believe that this is the same Srikant who made us emotional a few months back. Rajkumar shows the journey from Vicky who is unable to cut the watermelon placed in front of him properly with a knife to Vicky who cuts his love in the clutches of Sirkata and cuts her head in two pieces with a single blow of the knife, through his acting. From his comedy timing to his body language, everything is absolutely ‘awesome’.

I have no words to write about Pankaj Tripathi, from now on, while praising any actor in the review, I am thinking of writing that he is like Pankaj Tripathi in acting, just in one line it is proved that he is the best actor. Not only Pankaj Tripathi’s Rudra Bhaiya, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana are also giving full justice to their roles. Also, Tamanna Bhatia, Varun Dhawan, and Akshay Kumar have tried to make the work of the main characters easier by giving necessary twists in the story. Like Munjya, CGI has been used properly here as well. One thing that I liked about the Maddock film is that unnecessary special effects are not used in these films and hence it is easy to connect with the film. The songs of the film are also very interesting. The last song by Pawan Singh is amazing. Many close shots have been used in this film. Be it the close shots of Sirkata or others, the right angle is very important in these close shots and this angle is visible in this film.

The film is fun, but some things do not match logic. If a big hairy thing comes in front of my feet at night, I will run away quickly in the opposite direction, but here the girl is shown picking up Sirkata’s head herself. Secondly, what was the whole story of Sirkata, I could not understand till the end. Only this much has been told about how Sirkata made a woman. Everything else is fine, but the backstory is also important. It is a sin to leave the backstory incomplete for the sake of a new part. Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor‘s horror-comedy film Stree 2 is full of entertainment. Rajkumar Rao seeing Bittu crying tells him, “You are Bittu, not Sneha Kakkar”, or Jana warns Varun Dhawan, who is showing interest in Shraddha Kapoor, “You are a wolf, wolf. Don’t become an animal”, many such funny dialogues have been included in this film. Cinema is something that also talks about society. Stree 2 is that cinema. One thing out of a hundred, the film is good, full of entertainment, you can go to the theatre with the whole family and enjoy it a lot. Horror, comedy, entertainment and a good message… what else do you need, watch the film, both Sirkata and Stree are waiting for you in the theatre.

The film Stree 2 has been made by director Amar Kaushik, who directed Stree in 2018. In this film, Amar Kaushik has put everything that made Stree a hit. From mysterious places to Chanderi village and scary ghosts, this film has everything related to horror. At the same time, its characters are as funny as before. From the very first scene, Kaushik takes you back to the same world of Chanderi, which you have been waiting to go to for the last 6 years. The first half of the film is amazing. Not a moment goes by when you are not laughing or are not in fear of seeing the ghost again. You get to see and hear hints of the previous films, which add to your fun. The chemistry between Vicky and his friends is so amazing that your heart becomes happy watching them. The first half has been kept quite crisp. The dose of comedy in horror is amazing in it. But when the story moves forward in the second half, it starts to become a bit loose.

The second half starts off fun. It has cameos by many good actors, which add to the story and Dinesh Vijan’s horror-comedy universe. However, this is also the time when you start noticing the shortcomings of Amar Kaushik’s film. Writer Niren Bhatt has tried to keep the story of Stree 2 fun. But the climax of the film is a bit scattered. Still, if you ignore the shortcomings of the film, then the dose of laughter and horror will remain with you. What can we say about the performances? If anyone can play the role of Vicky better than Rajkumar Rao, then tell me because it is not only difficult but impossible to imagine anyone else in this role. Chanderi ka Messiah Vicky is amazing. Shraddha Kapoor has done a good job again in the role of the mystery girl. Her chemistry with Rajkumar is also good. Pankaj Tripathi in the role of Rudra Bhaiya and Abhishek Banerjee in the role of Jana is very funny. Both have played their characters well. Aparshakti Khurana is also perfect in the role of Bittu. Everyone fits their roles like a glove and does not let you remember that it has been 6 years since the last film.

Apart from this, Atul Shrivastava, Akash Dabhade, Mustak Khan, Sunita Rajwar, and other supporting cast have done their work well. There are good cameos in Stree 2, which will make your heart happy and also shock you. The VFX used in the movie is also perfect according to it. The songs of the movie are also good. Overall, Stree 2 is a fun ride of fear and fun, which you will enjoy watching and will also have scary dreams at night. The acting aspect proves to be top-notch in every way. The entire cast of the film has brought the horror-comedy alive through their characters. Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor as Bikki once again enrich the film with their roles. Rajkumar’s Desi accent and body language make you laugh a lot. Shraddha Kapoor looks very beautiful and strong. Her scenes facing the demon have become very lively. She has acted through her eyes. The director should have given her more screen time.

Pankaj Tripathi shines brightly as Rudra, his one-liners tickle you a lot, while Abhishek Banerjee in the role of Jana makes you laugh out loud. Aparshakti Khurana gave a memorable performance. Tamannaah Bhatia is very good in the item song, ‘Aaj Ki Raat’. Akshay Kumar as the surprise package does wonders in his short presence. Like the previous film, there is only one artist here who scored 100 out of 100 and that is Shraddha Kapoor. Shraddha Kapoor, who was the target of Hindi cinema’s politics, has made her mark on the big screen on her own, the whole story of which will be told some other time. It is very important to understand here that the series that Shraddha Kapoor started in Hindi cinema with the film Stree is not going to stop now. Stree 2 has increased her magic even more. Call it charisma or the magic of her personality that in front of her simple image, even Tamanna ‘Milk’ Bhatia’s looks seem to be pale.

Stree 2 Movie Review: The Last Words

Among the male actors, Rajkumar Rao‘s last hit film of his career was Stree, and Stree 2 has given him a new lease on life. Aparshakti’s work has been improving since the web series ‘Jubilee’. Abhishek Banerjee was completely rejected by the audience in the film ‘Veda’, but here he received a lot of applause in the role of Jana. And Pankaj Tripathi. His name alone is enough. His style of acting by moving his fingers and shaking his neck is ‘unchanged’ film after film. The father-son dialogue between Atul Srivastava and Rajkumar Rao once again went on the line ‘celibacy is not life, and life is in the destruction of semen’. There are a couple of double-meaning dialogues in the film, but everyone doesn’t need to understand them. The film is awesome. You can go watch it whenever you get tickets to the holiday celebrations from Independence Day to Raksha Bandhan.