Jio Studios and Maddock Films’ Stree 2 (UA) is the sequel to Stree (2018). Stree (Shraddha Kapoor) has gone away and, therefore, the men of Chanderi now roam about fearlessly. The womenfolk are quite unhappy in the changed scenario because when Stree was around, the ladies in Chanderi could do whatever their hearts desired as the men were too scared to come out in the nights. Anyway, instead of Stree, a faceless demon has now taken over Chanderi. He picks up girls and takes them to his hideout which cannot be invaded by anybody. Among other girls, Bittu’s (Aparshakti Khurana) girlfriend, Chitti (Anya Singh), is also kidnapped from her house by the demon who has the ability to cut his head from his body and is hence referred to as Sarkata (Sunil Kumar). Even as Vicky (Rajkumar Rao), Rudra (Pankaj Tripathi), Jana (Abhishek Banerjee) and Bittu are making plans to diffuse the powers of Sarkata and set free the kidnapped girls/women, Rudra’s heartthrob, Shama (Tamannaah Bhatia), is also abducted by Sarkata. Stree returns to Chanderi to help rid it of Sarkata. Between Vicky, Stree, Rudra, Jana and Bittu, they plot and plan and give Sarkata a truly tough fight. Bhaskar/Bhediya (Varun Dhawan in human/animal form) helps Vicky and Stree in eliminating Sarkata. There’s another person who comes to Stree’s aid too. How normalcy is restored in Chanderi forms the crux of the drama.
Niren Bhatt has written a story which may not be as high on comedy as the first part but it, nevertheless, has a lot of funny moments which keep the audience thoroughly entertained. His screenplay is fast-paced, more so in the post-interval portion. In the sequel, a lot of emphasis is laid on the horror element and on visual effects and computer graphics. The comic sequences which stand out are several — the scene in which the four friends are escaping on two-wheelers and Sarkata follows them, the scene in which Vicky and Bittu ask Rudra about Chitti/Chitthi, most of the scenes of the four friends together, the scene of Jana’s mother crying over Jana’s condition, the scene in which the character played by Akshay Kumar guides the friends, and many more. Besides these, the one-liners and the performances evoke a lot of laughter. The last half an hour of the drama is absolutely engaging and sees the audience’s eyes remaining glued to the screen. This part has so many wow moments that the viewers feel thrilled beyond words. Even after the drama is complete, there are two songs in the end rolling titles, both extremely entertaining, besides some after scenes which are also wonderful. Niren Bhatt’s dialogues are witty and supremely funny at several places.
Rajkumar Rao does a remarkable job in the role of Vicky. He is so natural that it’s a delight to watch him perform. Shraddha Kapoor looks beautiful and delivers a fine performance as Stree. She has looked stunning in the last song. Pankaj Tripathi is once again first-rate as Rudra. His acting is terrific. Abhishek Banerjee gives the viewers a number of comic moments with a no-holds-barred performance. He is outstanding. Aparshakti Khurana steals the show in several scenes as Bittu. Sunil Kumar is terrifying in the role of Sarkata. Anya Singh is good as Chitti. Tamannaah Bhatia has her moments as Shama. Akshay Kumar comes as a pleasant surprise and shines in a special appearance, evoking laughter with his entertaining punch lines. Varun Dhawan is pretty endearing in a special appearance as Bhaskar/Bhediya. Atul Srivastava has his moments as Vicky’s father. Sunita Rajwar is lovely in a tiny role as Jana’s mother. Bhoomi Rajgor makes her mark as Stree. Kusumlata Shastri, Swastika Chakraborty, Chandni Singh (all three as Vicky’s neighbours), Ajay Pal (as the postman), Akash Dabhade (as Narendra), Mustaqeem Shah Khan (as Durga), Mushtaq Khan (as the neta), Badriprasad Chavan (as Lokesh), Aatmaja, Swati Joshi, Samridhi Sathe (all three as friendship ladies), Vipasha Arvind (as Anju bhabhi) and the others provide the desired support.
Amar Kaushik’s direction is fantastic. He seems to have his finger on the audience’s pulse. His narration is praiseworthy. Musically (Sachin-Jigar), although the film does not boast of superhit songs, they are bound to grow in popularity with each passing day. Both the songs in the end rolling titles are very tuneful. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are in synch with the mood of the film. Choreography (by Vijay Ganguly and Jani Master) are eye-filling. Justin Varghese’s background music is superb. Jishnu Bhattacharjee’s camerawork is excellent. Darrell Maclean and Amrit Singh’s action and stunt scenes are exciting. Mayur Sharma’s production designing is of a fine standard. Manish Sharma’s prosthetic designing deserves distinction marks. Visual effects are excellent. Hemanti Sarkar’s editing is sharp and crisp.
On the whole, the box-office performance of Stree 2Â will be huge. It will prove to be a super-duper hit because of the tremendous initial value and franchise value, besides its merits (comedy, entertainment, horror, visual effects, computer graphics), of course.
Released on 14-8-’24 at Inox (4 shows; in daily 13 shows from 15-8-’24) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PVR Inox Pictures. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: beyond bumper. …….Also released all over. Opening was historic at most of the places.
