'Stree 2' review: Excellent horror-comedy backed by A-grade performances
Sequels are a risky wager because when the first part runs riot, there is added pressure to outdo it. Fortunately, Stree 2 plays its cards mostly right, whipping up a screenplay that is genuinely scary, hilarious, and rollicking fun in equal measure. If I had a nickel for each time I laughed, I would be decently rich by the time I exited the theater!
This is what happens in the film
Set sometime after the events of Stree, the Amar Kaushik directorial focuses on the same set of characters, this time, on a different mission: They have to save Chanderi from the horrors of Sarkata (the headless), who abducts young women. Vicky (Rajkummar Rao), Rudra (Pankaj Tripathi), and Bittu (Aparshakti Khurana) are clueless until Shraddha Kapoor's unnamed character returns to eliminate Sarkata. Will they succeed?
Its fountain of entertainment never goes dry
The film captures you by surprise from the first moment onward; it grips you and then never lets you go. Like the recently released Munjya, the film may sag in parts and its flaws may stare you in the face at times (more on that later), but that doesn't stop it from being entertaining, immersive, and staying (mostly) on the right track.
The second part has improved its humor by many notches
Stree's humor wasn't lowbrow or forced, but it wasn't exactly anything marvelous either. Here, however, things are exponentially better, and from the very first frame, the movie is on a crusade to make you laugh through either relatable situations or meta jokes (keep an eye out for that). It's one of those rare films that gets the blend of comedy and humor right!
It has more depth and gravitas
Stree 2 is more nuanced and has much less fluff, and the way it subverted gender politics and commented on men's predatory behavior in part one finds much more depth here (it felt rushed earlier). This time, the writing is better and more fleshed out, and there are more treats for us. In particular, THAT cameo post-the interval had me cheering in my seat!
How do the actors do?
Like the first part, Kapoor has relatively fewer scenes, but that is not to say that she struggles or fails to find her footing in this film packed to the brim with first-grade actors. If she is the face of the franchise, Rao is the beating heart of it. Khurana gets promoted in this part—more scenes and an entire subplot devoted to him.
The world of Chanderi is worth revisiting
I was left most impressed by the continuity and the attention to minor details. Kaushik doesn't let anything go to waste—not his actors, not the scope of humor, and not the locations. The film even borrows dialogues from part one so we know it's the same characters, after all. It's like meeting your old friends after ages and finding they haven't changed at all.
No such thing as a bad Rajkumar Rao performance
Rao, in his third film of the year after Mr. & Mrs. Mahi and Srikanth, gets another chance to flex his creative-comedic muscles, to the extent that it's tough to look at somebody else when he is in the frame. He is consistently terrific and extremely reliable, to the extent that he makes acting look effortless, even though the craft is anything but!
How it carries forward messaging from the first part
Sarkata only kidnaps women who are "modern." This is an interesting take, especially in the Indian horror-comedy genre, which is not exactly known for its storyline. Kaushik ensures that while delivering laughs, he also hands in ever-timely gender commentary, and we can certainly think of many such patriarchal, misogynistic figures who are threatened by independent women. The film hits the nail on its head.
However, there are some problems as well
As for the issues that leave a grimy mess behind in the movie, a pre-interval fight sequence and the entire climax are extremely overstretched and bloated. It would not have made a difference if these parts were shortened by a few minutes—it would have only made the movie more fast-paced, focused, and crisp. The never-ending climax, in particular, tests your patience and focus.
Watch it in theaters; 3.5/5 stars
Stree 2 is one of the rare films that have the same magic ingredients that made the first part such a runaway blockbuster. It is not afraid to experiment, it can take a joke or two on itself, its performances never miss, and most importantly, its narrative core isn't hollow. Maddock's horror-comedy universe has truly come of age with Stree 2. Don't miss it.
