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Release
date:
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August 31, 2018
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Director:
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Amar Kaushik
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Cast:
Language:
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Raj Kummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Aparshakti
Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee, Pankaj Tripathi, Atul Srivastava
Hindi
|
In the town of Chanderi in Madhya
Pradesh, there is a popular myth about a female ghost known as Stree who haunts
the community and abducts men, leaving nothing but their clothes behind. She is
not as rigid as you might think though – if you write “Oh Stree kal aana (oh woman return tomorrow)” on the boundary wall
of your home, she actually complies, and returns the next day, only to be
confused once again by the persistent instruction.
This literate, obedient, stupid
spook and the equally dimwitted townsfolk are the subject of director Amar
Kaushik’s Stree written by Raj
Nidimoru and Krishna DK (credited as Raj and DK) who have so far directed the
brilliant yet unassuming, highly under-recognised Shor In The City (2011) and the wacko zombie comedy Go Goa Gone (2013) with Saif Ali Khan,
among other films. If you have seen Shor
and GGG you might understand why and
how the crazy idea for Stree might
have come to Raj and DK. These gentlemen are clearly not interested in the
straight and wide path. Ergo: when they do horror, don’t go expecting Bhoot. So if GGG was nutty and over the top, with Stree they have managed to be nutty, hilarious, ridiculous, scary
to the point of being terrifying in places, feminist, secular and political in
various ways, wistful, and just all-round rollicking fun. Did I say hilarious? Ya
well, let me say it again.
Kaushik has scored big with the
writing served to him, and just as well with the casting, which is as close to
perfection as it can get. Raj Kummar Rao is outstanding as Vicky, the young
tailor who scoffs at his community’s belief in paranormal mumbo jumbo until he
becomes convinced that he is Stree’s
object of desire. The
man we see here seems born to do comedy. I had to pinch my arm to remind myself
that he is the same actor who played the lead in Shahid, Citylights and Newton. If Rao is not one of Indian
cinema’s most versatile talents, then New Delhi is the capital of France. His crackling dialogue delivery is matched
moment for moment by Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee’s career-making
performances as his cowardly buddies, and Pankaj Tripathi’s genius in his role
as the local know-it-all. While these four keep the fire in the film blazing
with their flawless comic timing, Shraddha Kapoor is suitably intimidatingly
nice, sweet and intriguing as the woman they feel harbours a secret.
While I spent much of Stree giggling uncontrollably, there
were moments when I thought the proceedings on screen would give me a heart
attack. That is an unusual combination to achieve, and Kaushik deserves all
kudos for it. The primary reason why Stree
is so effective though is that it does not caricature the people of Chanderi –
they are as real and foolish and prejudiced and good as most human beings are,
and could well be you or me with less sophistication. One twist in the film’s closing
moments feels superfluous and one conversation during which a significant point
is being made feels a tad bit self-conscious about its messaging, but so much
that is said and done in Stree hits
the nail on the head and smashes it right through the wood, that I don’t feel inclined to
be finnicky here. That said, a film that mocks gender bias and ridicules
misogyny so pointedly could have done without the blatant objectification of a
woman (with no equivalent objectification of a man) in the kind of song and
dance routine that Bollywood calls “item number”. Hopefully Messrs Raj, Krish
and Kaushik will think about that when they make their next film together,
because it is the only bow to convention in this otherwise outrightly
unconventional film.
Stree is like a blind date that turns out
well – a tryst with the unexpected filled with exciting surprises. It is a
thought-provoking laughathon-cum-spookathon,
and one of the most unusual Bollywood films
of the year so far.
Rating
(out of five stars): ***1/2
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CBFC Rating (India):
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UA
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Running time:
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130 minutes
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This
review has also been published on Firstpost:
Poster
courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stree_(2018_film)
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