Stree 2 had been a much-awaited sequel to Stree (2018 film) that heralded the launch of the Maddock Supernatural Universe focused on Indian Horror comedies. It’s the fifth in the installment and plays on its strengths that made the first movie a hit. Very rarely do we see a sequel living up to the original, and this one manages to deliver on the promise and more.
Stree 2 should be available to watch for free on Amazon Prime probably by the end of this year.
Stree 2: Plot Overview
The story picks up right where the first one left off, with a few years skipped. The old favorites are reprised, including the main leads Vicky (played by Rajkumar Rao), Bittu (played by Aparshakti Khurana), Jana (played by Abhishek Banerjee), and Rudra bhaiya (played by the veteran Pankaj Tripathi). Joining them is also the mysterious no-name love interest of Vicky (played by Shraddha Kapoor), who is back swinging her magical braid. Rapunzel, who? A new hero is in town.
Stree has left Chanderi for good, but now a new horror is here to haunt this quaint little town. In the last movie, Stree abducted and dragged away men. Now, the new terror is targeting women. The townspeople think the women are running away to the city for better prospects. But, they are being kidnapped. Things come to a head when Chitti, Bittu’s ‘step-girlfriend’, is loudly and noticeably abducted.
This, and an ominous letter about someone’s arrival, spur the team to investigate the disappearances. They aim to save the women and restore the town’s peace.
Comedy
This movie does a very good job on the comedy aspect. The asylum sequence and the bike sequence were especially hilarious. The writers did a great job using wordplay to add humor. The smart use of background music, which would die down comically in some scenes, was fantastic. There were several callbacks to the first movie that added to the charm. Yet, the four friends absolutely steal the show, with my favorite being Jana. The portrayal of his naive innocence and absolute trust in his friends, while getting dragged into their hare-brained schemes, is hilarious. And he did indeed steal the asylum scene even when performing against other celebrated and distinguished actors.
Cinematography
For the most parts, the horror scenes are underwhelming, only partially delivering even for the jump scares. With any good horror, it’s the buildup that terrifies. It lets viewers’ imaginations run wild. But, in this movie, the new terror is revealed almost immediately. There is also the technical aspect, where the CGI for the floating head is not that good. Same is the case for the alternate dimension where the climax happens. This ends up making the movie more comedy than horror, and I, for one, am not at all mad about that.
Social Messaging
This movie has a heavy social message around women’s safety and the regressive thinking that often goes hand in hand with the patriarchal structure of our societies, and it comes out around the time when recent events have reignited the conversation around this.
The portrayal of the scene where Sarkata’s head regenerates and multiplies every time it is cut, almost reminds us of how this sort of mindset can spread and multiply if left unchallenged.
The creators do a fantastic job at highlighting the stark contrast between the two forms of masculinity – toxic and otherwise. This movie also does a really good job of highlighting the fearful atmosphere once the women start feeling unsafe, and it’s disappointing that the real-world problem is not as easily fixable as it is in the movie.
Heroic Entry
One surprisingly good aspect was the absolutely marvelous entry of the heroine with an epic background score. We’ve seen such entries in the past for heroes. In the middle of a fight, they enter with a grand entrance and epic background music. So, for the female protagonist to make an entry like that it was wonderful yet unexpected.
Final Thoughts – Stree 2 Review
This movie definitely did a fantastic job of sticking to its strengths and making the audience laugh. It also did a great job of referencing the Maddock Supernatural Universe, and it seems like we, as audiences, can expect more of these fun stories in the upcoming future. In the end, I would totally recommend this movie to anyone wanting a good, fun comedy to catch with friends and family.