'Stree' Review: Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao's spooky horror-comedy provides thrills and laughs in equal measure

Film: Stree 

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

Direction: Amar Kaushik

Duration: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Language: Hindi (U/A)

Genre: Horror -Comedy

Critic’s Rating: 3.5/5

Story: 

Set in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, the story is based on a ridiculous premise that the town experiences strange goings-on during the annual pooja nights. The belief is that a female ghost walks around the ruins of this quaint town and adjoining forests stalking men who stay out late. God forbid, if she calls out to a man and he turns back, he is GONE. Only his clothes are found...

Review:

The horror-comedy genre is fairly new to Indian cinema. Still, director Amar Kaushik does a commendable job of providing thrills and laughs in equal measure with his spooky Stree.

Three friends — Vicky (Rajkummar), Bitu (Aparshakti) and Jana (Abhishek) — are your regular small-town Joes who dream of serenading a girl. Vicky gets lucky first. When he’s out puffing away, he meets a beautiful light-eyed, Stree (Shraddha), who holds his hand and urges him to do her a favour with a ‘Vicky please.’ He’s an accomplished tailor and she wants a ghagra choli to wear to the puja. Mesmerised, he agrees to deliver her order within a couple of days. And simultaneously starts to build love castles in the air.

The first half of this film is cleverly written. The legend of the ghost, who walks, is laid down perfectly and the small-town guy’s romantic aspirations are is wittily captured. The banter between the three friends and their guru, Rudro (Pankaj) keeps you in splits throughout, so much so that at interval point, your stomach is hurting because you’ve guffawed so much.

Post interval, the pace lags. Since the spirit’s presence is already established, a lot of the scenario that follows seems stretched. However, Sumit Arora’s dialogue continues to tickle. There are eerie bits that leave you intrigued and uncomfortable! So far as horror fests go, this one wins.

Then suddenly, Stree is no longer just your regular horror film. It also becomes an important social comment on gender equality (the usual women not just being child-bearing machines, etc.). The undertone is a tad forced, but nevertheless, overall, the film is enjoyable because of the superlative acting from Rajkummar, Pankaj, Aparshakti and Abhishek all of who blend seamlessly into the screenplay credited to Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. 

Verdict:

If you’re in the mood for some humour, go for it. When things get scary, just close your eyes, but don’t miss the dialogue. It’s witty and winsome.