Spooked by clichés

KARACHI:

On most fronts, Stree 2 has nothing new to offer. All its tropes from the reluctant hero down to the band of quirky friends who set off to save the town are decades past their peak. It's demons parade their haunting in a generic blue-orange palette that paints much of Chanderi and it's small-town concerns.

To the extent it parodies all the hackneyed but no less iconic tropes of Bollywood horror, the last act of the film drags like some nondescript gameplay walkthrough. However, until its unexpected climax - the very presence of a twist is a twist in itself after a series of predictable events - the comedy horror sustains a remarkable pace that few commercial cinemagoers would object to.

Rajkummar Rao returns as the charming yet bumbling lovestruck Vicky in director Amar Kaushik's sequel to Stree (2018). Pankaj Tripathi reprises his role as the bibliophilic Rudra with a penchant for paranormal activity and alcohol whereas Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee once again play Bittu and Jana respectively, Vicky's two equally spooked friends.

While Stree, literally translating into 'woman,' leads the conflict of the first film as a nocturnal witch who hunts men during the festive days of Durga Pooja, the sequel derives its terrors from a headless ghost with a vendetta against women with 'modern views.'

Spoiler alert!

Since Stree 2 builds on the conclusions of Stree, some spoilers are inevitable.

Shraddha Kapoor, the enigmatic anti-heroine of the first film, was last seen exiting Chanderi in a bus before vanishing with Stree's chopped braid. Still without a name or past, she returns to find Vicky to warn him of the headless villain wreaking havoc upon Chanderi.

When Bittu's girlfriend is taken by the demon, the four friends must once again unite with Shraddha's mysterious character to save their small town. But this time, the real beast might just be patriarchy personified.

If one looks past the comically exaggerated CGI that animates the headless monster, a very humanly masculinist reasoning underlies his targetting of Bittu's girlfriend and other women. Yet, even as he kidnaps women he deems a threat to tradition and preaches the sanctity of womanhood, home, and honour, the film's gender politics is fully aware of its intended audience.

And it is undoubtedly this self-discerning gaze that keeps Stree 2 from counteracting the headless demon's patriarchal mandate with matriarchal reform. Grossing over INR5 billion, according to recent numbers by Times of India, the comedy horror has steadily drawn comparison with other blockbusters including the controversial Ranbir Kapoor-starrer, Animal.

With Ranbir essaying the role of a violent chauvinistic 'hero,' director Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film has been accused of promoting everything that Stree 2 takes as its central antagonist. From women condemned without choice to childbearing and domesticity to men seeking virility in philandering and senseless violence all become influences that Vicky and his gang must fight in the ultimate battle.

Whether inadvertent or otherwise, there is a subtlety in Kaushik's directorial that will likely have even the most anti-feminist of the viewers seated in the cinema hall. Neither is any single character, be it Rajkummar or Shraddha, allowed to become the ultimate hero. In a story premised on folklore, the evil and its remedies are both communal.

Homage to classics

That said, one is justified to question the film's deliberate embrace of flippancy towards the horror genre.

Thinking of Bollywood's comedy horrors, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Go Goa Gone come to mind. While Stree 2 has little to do with zombies like the latter, Akshay Kumar's cameo to nudge the fight against evil is delightfully reminiscent of the former. Elements like the torn manuscript of Chanderi Puran remind one of Krishna Cottage's Kahi Ankahi Baatein. Even the titular "Sarkatta" inspires the familiar comedic terror of nights spent watching Zee Horror Show and Ssshhhh...Koi Hai.

On one hand, this homage-based storytelling makes it a rewarding watch for many millennials who grew up watching Bollywood. On the other hand, the film suspends Chanderi in the middle of nowhere.

Nothing about the film's setting has any particularities whatsoever. Among the headless monster's many victims is a girl kidnapped for her intercaste marriage. When the town's more traditional women ask what do they have to worry about, Rudra reminds them of their smart phones and televisions. That is modernity, he cautions.

A viewer may find hard to comprehend Chanderi if too much thought is dispensed. Simultaneously, a viewer based in Pakistan might also think twice before complaining. As much of Bollywood cinema lamentfully turns saffron, the unsubtle luxuries of Stree 2 are highly welcome.

And for those who love ghostly Octobers and folklore, Stree 2 is right up the alley of pichhal pairi and Karsaz ki Churail.

Verdict: What Stree 2 gets right is not a commentary on gender rights and autonomy but how to use mainstream conversations to produce two-or-so hours of family entertainment.