There is a lot going for Stree. There are barely any horror comedies made in India. The ones attempted have been lame remakes or badly written movies. Stree is a breath of fresh air. The social commentary is vague and uneven, it is the jokes that are hilarious, and keeps the movie consistently watchable.
It starts on a spooky note, mines some great laughs, has a cast at the top of their game, and you just don’t know where it will go.
The story is spread across four nights. I was plugged in, for most of the two odd hours. Lots of freshness and spark in this lively horror comedy, set in a sleepy village in Madhya Pradesh. The dynamics of a horror comedy set in one location, that too a sleepy village to make a statement on patriarchy is great writing.
In a delicious role-reversal, it is the men who have to return before nightfall to home. It is the men who are stalked and relieved of their clothes. In a hilarious scene, the wife leaves home, while the terrified, hapless husband asks her with expectation when she will be coming back home. The wife comforts the husband, and the straight-faced manner in which the scene is done, induces the comedy.
Shout out to dialogue writer Sumit Arora with a screenplay by the irresistible pair – Raj & D.K.
The Stree StoryÂ
Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) is a gifted ladies village tailor who falls for a beautiful mysterious woman (Shraddha Kapoor).
Strangely, Vicky sees the girl only four days a year, during the festival season. Meanwhile, a witch, simply called Stree (woman), terrorizes the village at night. In a cheeky reversal, it picks up men and disappears, leaving behind their clothes.
Vicky’s friends, Bittu (Aparshakti Khurrana) and Jaana (Abhishek Banerjee) suspect that his beautiful mysterious friend is the witch. When Jaana ends up kidnapped by the witch, Vicky’s suspicion grows.
Who is Stree and what does she want?
Great Funny Treatment, Smothered EndingÂ
Stree blends humour with the horror genre to great effect, riffing off one funny sequence after another.
The horror is not in-your-face, but cleverly added and improvised. The film falters and stumbles in its last 15 minutes, with no particular resolution or message.
The Nora Fatehi body show goes against the film’s spirit. Women must not be treated as objects, is a mildly suggested message.
Gender equality is merely brushed over, and the final revelation doesn’t add up. Though the non-consequential ending hampers the movie, by then I was quite satisfied with the entire movie in general.
Performances, Sound Effects Â
Shraddha Kapoor nails her mysterious character impressively; this is her acting redemption.
Aparshakti Khurrana and Abhishek Banerjee are good sport. Pankaj Tripathi rocks as Rudra, the witch expert and scholar. Tripathi as the all-knowing professor, acting almost like a narrator is a riot, making a great cameo to Rajkummar.
Rajkummar Rao reaches out to us in many shades.
From a stammering lover, rebellious son, blabbering friend to a “my-eyes-are-a-measuring-tape” tailor, he lights up the screen again.
Watch out for how Rao, cornered and scared to death, expresses his love to a witch. Rao sets a new acting standard, for the second consecutive year.
Applause for dialogue writer Sumit Arora, screenplay writers Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K. and director Amar Kaushik. The sound department deserves special mention for effective and clever effects.
Stree Review
Stree may not make it to our Best Hindi Films of the Year list, but I couldn’t help liking it.
Stree is refreshing, out-of-the-box and too damn funny.
