Stree

Stree directed by Amar Kaushik is a movie written by Raj and DK who are the makers of Go Goa Gone. If you have liked that zombie comedy, this one starring Rajkummar Rao is a double dose of that and I had the loudest of laughter inside a movie hall after a long time. Stree is a genuine horror comedy that makes fun of the horror genre and at the same time, the makers have managed to pitch a satire amidst all the fun moments in the film.

Our hero Vicky is a tailor who has this impeccable skill of making dresses for women. The guy falls in love with a girl whom he doesn’t know much about and she used to come to his village only during the pooja season. There is a myth in the village that the ghost of a Stree haunts the men of the village by taking them away leaving just their clothes. So the movie mainly focuses on the activity of this ghost during one particular pooja season where one of the friends of our hero gets kidnapped by the ghost. The attempt of the friends to stop Stree is what Amar Kaushik showing us.

There is one scene in the climax of the movie where Rajkummar Rao’s Vicky yells back at the ghost. If you are that person who laughs easily at any joke, the chances of this scene giving you breathing issues are severely high. The audience along with whom I watched the film was laughing loud till that point, and for this scene, there were thunderous applauds and some were even jumping up from their seats. The fun is almost similar to what Akshat Varma’s Delhi Belly managed to deliver. The story is not the important part here. The back to back nuanced hilarious scenes will keep you laughing throughout the film.

If any of you felt like seeing a little more of Rajkummar Rao in Bareilly Ki Barfi, this is perhaps the movie you should watch. The guy has incredible talent and as every actor has already admitted, making the viewer laugh is the most difficult task and Rao does that with finesse. The dialect, the body language, the comedy timing etc are just spot on and I have no doubt in my mind in saying that he is going to be one of the superstars of the next lot. Shraddha Kapoor isn’t that famous for her acting skills and the role assigned to her is also pretty much in her safe zone. Pankaj Tripathi is also incredible with his comic timing. I laughed a lot whenever he started explaining stuff. Abhishek Bannerjee as Jana and Aparshakthi Khurrana as Bittu also shine in their supportive roles.

Amar Kaushik manages to add an extra dosage of humor to the screenplay of Raj and DK. A major reason for the laughter is also the witty dialogues of Sumit Arora. At a time when most industries are depending on misogynistic and racial elements to create humor Amar Kaushik and Sumit Arora manages to give us a clean comedy. Even in the incorporation songs, Kaushik doesn’t make them look like a compromised addition. The screenplay’s beauty is that it sort of clarifies that it is a madcap entertainer and then fills it with smart humor and at the end of all there is a narrative that takes a dig at the society for its approach towards women. Visuals were good. The idea to include songs in excerpts works in favor of the movie.

Some of you who are just here to check the rating might get carried away seeing it or disagree with me saying this movie isn’t that great. But after laughing continuously for two hours, including moments that made me applaud till my palm turned red, not giving this rating would be a dishonest action. It has flaws, but it is incredibly hilarious.

Rating: 4/5