By
Sharada Iyer
Currently Bollywood is abuzz with the news that Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank, starring Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Banerjee, Pankaj Tripathi and Aparshakti Khurana, has not only turned out to be the biggest blockbuster of the year but also become the highest grossing Hindi film of all time!. It has officially surpassed the lifetime domestic collections of SRK’s Pathan and Jawan (Hindi version), Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Prabhas’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion to attain this coveted status.
It has raked in more than Rs 600 crores at the box-office in the domestic circuit and still going strong in its 6th week. The worldwide collections amount to more than Rs 800 crores. The film has also created a record by becoming the first Hindi film to cross the astounding figure Rs 600 crores within India. Taking into consideration the small budget in which the film was made, this is indeed a record which is going to be difficult to break any time soon.
Produced by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films, written by Niren Bhatt and directed by Amar Kaushik Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank is a sequel to the film Stree, which was released in 2018. While everybody knew that the film would do well, no one in their wildest imagination had foreseen this kind of success. Released alongside two biggies- Akshay Kumar’s multi-starrer flick Khel Khel Mein, and John Abraham’s action thriller Veda on 15th August 2024, Stree 2 marched on steadily minting money from Day 1 at every show in every city without fail. While the other two films with their limited appeal faded out from the scene very quickly, Stree 2 kept gaining momentum with every passing day.
Undoubtedly, the film had an edge over the other two releases as it was a story continuing from Stree and had already built up a loyal fan-base. Stree had been the maiden directorial venture of Amar Kaushik and when released in 2018 had blown away the audience with an intriguing plot under a hitherto untapped genre of horror-comedy-thriller with the biggest USP being the novelty in the script. In the absence of any of the so-called superstars the writer-director team could give us well-etched out on-screen characters played by excellent actors. The casting was spot on with the actors executing their job brilliantly to leave an enthralling impact on the viewer’s mind.
Stree, with its story set in the small town of Chanderi, had also been unique in terms of the story which for a change had a female monster who is out to get single men in the dead of the night. The whole idea of men being afraid to step out of their homes for fear of the female monster ‘Stree’ abducting/killing them during their annual Dusshera festival was indeed a rare phenomenon and an eerie one at that. The onus falls on Rajkummar Rao and his friends Pankaj, Aparshakti and Abhishek to rid the town from the horrors of Stree. The mysterious Shraddha helps them in this mission.
Having ended on a mysterious note, there was an expectant audience already waiting for the sequel to get many answers to the unsolved mystery of the first film and that was a huge plus point. Stree 2 starts off perfectly from where the first film left off and manages to keep up with the level of comedy, thrill and horror which had been the USP of the first film. However, the female monster ‘Stree’ is replaced this time by a male ghost, a headless one- ‘Sarkata’ who is after young progressive women. The secret shrouding Shraddha’s character and the legend of ‘Stree’ continued and kept the flow of things engaging. Once again, the same gang led by Rajkummar with the help of Shraddha helps the villagers by facing the wrath of ‘Sarkata’.
To pull off a sequel to this uniquely successful plot of Stree, a lot of astute planning and intelligent writing must have happened behind the scenes to enthrall the viewers once again. Producer Dinesh Vijan is building his own horror-universe by connecting Stree, Stree 2, Munjiya, and Bhediya. All these films have stories based on some folktale. We get a glimpse of the connection with Varun Dhawan’s cameo in Stree 2. Another surprise was added by bringing in Akshay Kumar in a cameo and he plays a unique character. All this added more intrigue and thrill to the already engaging plot and kept the viewers guessing.
Another big plus point in the film’s favour was the total lack of release of any film worth a mention to give it any kind of competition. Since the film was already doing well, it made most of the paucity of releases during this period to rake in unimaginable moolah. Why are the big ones always waiting for a festival weekend or a special occasion instead of being confident of their product and releasing it without any clash with other films? Gone are the days when just the name of a star attracted the film-goers. Today without a solid story and an engaging plot or at least some uniqueness in the script, no star names can fetch the numbers and nothing can be predicted.
Further, the casting has been so perfect that every character contributes to the flow of the story. Rajkummar Rao’s genius which is evident with every film of his, seamlessly fits into this story with his endearing persona. As the local tailor infatuated by the mysterious Shraddha Kapoor, he is a delight to watch. Pankaj Tripathi, the actor nonpareil, with his natural acting added one more feather to his cap in his series of effortless performances. Abhishek Bannerjee and Aparshakti Khurana were a revelation and together their scenes are a laugh riot especially when the fear of the unknown grips them.
Shraddha Kapoor with a captivating combination of innocence and an aura of mystery surrounding her, was the perfect choice as the female protagonist in the film. It was nice to see this hardworking yet underrated actress getting such a brilliant role. She looks lovely, charming, and acts very well and her chemistry with Rajkummar Rao lent a fresh appeal. With this success, she has silenced her detractors by giving the industry its biggest blockbuster especially at a time when Hindi cinema is going through a lean phase. She now becomes the only female actor to have a Rs 600 crore blockbuster under her belt!
A film attains this kind of success when many factors come together in a cohesive manner and somewhere there is an ‘X’ factor that clicks with the audience. Somehow everything seems to have clicked for Stree 2 as a team, which allowed the combined brilliance of every department to shine through. The comic aspect has been effortlessly woven in the horror scenes and the chase sequences are just too hilarious as well as thrilling at the same time.
In the absence of any big superstars or marketing gimmicks, or any extraordinary CGI or special effects, this kind of stupendous collections has caught the makers, the artistes, and the entire film fraternity by surprise. While there was a controversial debate on social media over the PR agencies of the stars debating as to which actor/star gets the credit for the success, it is very clear that there is no one factor which can be singled out for the film’s success. Without doubt, much of the credit goes to the writers and director who have spun a perfect sequel to the electrifying blockbuster Stree.
Stree 2 has also ended on a thrilling note and with talks of a Stree 3 in the pipeline, fans are already gearing up to be part of the excitement of the ‘Stree-universe’, where more of the mystery would be unraveled and probably newer characters will be added to expand the horror universe…
Whether the third part of this series would meet with the same success remains to be seen. For now, the cast and crew of Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank are enjoying their moment of glory in the sun. Kudos to the entire team for this thoroughly enjoyable film!
https://myviewsonbollywood.wordpress.com/2024/09/24/stree-2-sarkate-ka-aatank-becomes-the-highest-grossing-hindi-cinema-of-all-time/