All audience reviews of Stree

I did not have too much expectations from this experimental project by a debutant director and with Rajkumar Rao & Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles, I was neither very optimistic regarding box office collections of the movie. But, when the movie emerged out to be a surprise hit at the box office thereby crossing the 100 crore mark with ease & grace, I had pinned the movie on my wishlist and too my surprise ( as I am not very inclined to watching horror movies), I really enjoyed the movie throughout its duration as the movie was the right mix of all the mainstream elements that comprise of a good cinematic experience.

The well-written screenplay and comic chops by Rajkumar Rao & Aparshakti Khurana make us laugh, the vibrant screen presence of the beautiful Shradha Kapoor lights up the romantic scenes, the light doses of horror amidst the streets of small town in MP help in instantly developing a connect with the rural & mass audience, and at last the stupendous direction gives us ample memories to take away from the movie alongside a strong feminist message that is beautifully conveyed through the dialogues without using any stick to stamp it on the audience.

As always, Rajkumar Rao is terrific in the role of the aashiq cum darzi and from the very first scene the makers have constructed the movie in a very meticulous manner to form an organized screenplay and the makers have displayed intelligence as they have flown in with the tide by taking a novel concept which has been inspired from the true events witnessed in Bangalore in the 1990s. The movie is bound to give the audience a sense of nostalgia as it has a sense of earthiness with small town rural charms that really captivate the viewers giving an honest portrayal of the feminine ghost that is not dangerous yet harmful in a degree that is proportionate to the morality & the weakness of the man in front of her.

In the end, the message is that it is not the females who are to be blamed for their complexity, vivaciousness, & beauty for making men go haphazard in their minds. It is instead, the weakness and spinelessness of men that makes the man-woman relationship go awry. All in all, a new story that has been told with brevity & compassion.
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Nothing like throwing a scare into family audiences on a Sunday afternoon and adding on romance, comedy, songs to make it a masala movie. So the story writers have picked up a real incident which is supposed to have taken place in an Karnataka village, where a female ghost enters households at the dead of night , kidnaps a male member and then leaves behind the clothes worn by him.
Legend has it that the villagers had put up signs on their front door asking the ghost " to come tomorrow ", and this worked in the sense that she didn't appear. The main characters are a ladies tailor Raj Kummar, his friend Aparshakti Khurrana, and the village elder Pankaj Tripathi. They are all natural actors who always act well. And of course the heroineShraddha Kapoor who really doesn't have much to do except act as a sort of decoy in this suspenseful yarn.
Director Amar Kaushik keeps a good pace on the movie and keeps the audience engaged with entertaining fare. The actors do their bit well and keep the scenes believable.
The movie could have been called " The ladies tailor and the female ghost ". A simple entertaining film on the whole. less

We live in a patriarchal society where women fear men and are frightful of them. But can you imagine a town where all the men fear getting out of the house due to presence of a woman? Well, so is the state of the society in Amar Kaushik's horror-comedy 'Stree'.

Starring Shraddha Kapoor, RajKumar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana and Pankaj Tripati, the movie is set in the quaint town of Chanderi which is haunted by the spirit of a vengeful woman named 'Stree' who stalks men during a festive period. Appearing during 4 nights, Stree calls out to men at night and if they turn around, she takes them away leaving only their clothes behind.

The famous tailor, who has a record of stitching a lehenga in 31 minutes, Vicky (RajKumar Rao), falls in love with a mysterious woman (Shraddha Kapoor) who comes to his shop to get a garment stitched for the festival. Coincidentally, she appears during the 4 nights of the festival and due to this striking similarity, Vicky's friends assume that she is Stree.

Following a series of hilarious moments and certain thrilling scenes, Stree is the first movie of it's kind that explores the horror-comedy genre well. While the movie has certain powerful punchlines and brilliant comic timing, the film however, lets go of the genre and becomes serious towards the end. And the fact that a movie that is promoting women empowerment has an item number does not really help its case.

Verdict: Despite its flaws, Stree is an overall entertainer and does not fail to leave the audience entertained and satisfied. less

Stree is probably the first movie of its kind in Bollywood. The horror-comedy movie is packed with some powerful punchlines and scenes, that leave the audience gasping for air every few minutes. The incorporation of a village myth in a comical set-up is extremely clever.
The film challenges superstitious beliefs, proves them right and also manages to end things on a positive note. It may seem like there is a lot going on, but everything somehow falls into place and does not mess up the plot. Also, the fact that Indian horror could genuinely be scary in a comedy is commendable. less

it was an amazing adventure of horror comedy , its a ride of hillarios punches, all the character doing very good work, watching its worthy, and rajkumar work very well in this content and prove he is genuine actor of bollywood. less

This is a movie about a ‘ladies specialist’, a master tailor who has apparently set a record by stitching a ‘lehenga choli’ in 31 minutes flat. He is so intuitive that he doesn’t even need a tape measure. He just asks a woman to stand in front of him and to slowly pirouette 360 degrees. Then he makes a mental note of her figure and stitches both pieces of the garment from memory. He adds a matching ‘dupatta’, and the lady is all set to present herself to an admiring public. One day, Vicky (Rajkummar Rao), this tailor in the town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, is taking a smoke when he is approached by a light eyed beauty. She wants a dress stitched. He has a frenetic schedule ahead because of the upcoming festival, but she pleads with him to turn the dress material she brings with her into a ‘lehenga' set by the evening of the next ‘arati’. Considering the season, it is a tough ask, but she holds him tightly by the arm and says: ‘Vicky, Please’. When he tells his friends the story, adding how he has fallen in love with this nameless woman at first sight, they both tease him with the line 'Bhicky, Pleaj', which then becomes the refrain of the movie. The strength of ’Stree’ is in the writing. The spoken word eschews all linguistic influence from ‘Bambaiyya’ Hindi. ‘Stree’ is a funny ghost story with good acting all around, particularly the dry humour generated by Tripathi with his deadpan delivery style. There is also a rather erotic scene when the nameless woman (Shraddha Kapoor) asks Vicky to take her measurements, despite his exact mental calibration of it. In the absence of a tape, Vicky, 'the ladies specialist’, uses the length of his palm as a measure, starting from her feet, and moving upwards, with his eyes shut tight. ‘Stree’ is an entertaining film for the most part. It is true that towards the latter half, there are some unnecessary elongations of very obvious scenes, and a few unwanted repetitions of the more entertaining gags. Still, just for the clever writing of memorable lines, and for the simple pleasure of watching Rajkummar Rao play a naive and sentimental lover with such natural charm, 'Stree’ is worth a watch. less

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapor starrer Stree is a horror comedy film that deals with the issue of urban legends, of witch.

The story is set in the town of Chanderi, Vicky is a women's tailor who doesn’t believe in superstitions. He falls in love with a mysterious woman who shows up at the time of a four days long puja. The town is meanwhile haunted by a witch who is called 'Stree'. She is said to be responsible for the disappearances of men from the village.

Vicky refuses to believe these rumors until his friend Jana disappears in the same way and sets about to solve this mystery. The end is somewhat predictable but not in the way the audience expects it to, keeping the surprise element in the movie intact. The film is gamble with the horror genre which is a weak point of Bollywood movie. However, with the comedy element, tickling your funny bones it leaves you unprepared for jump scares that make it somewhat scary.

The movie deals with the urban legends of witchcraft yet takes on the social issue with a comical angle to the same. It doesn't make any bold societal statements yet it does leave the audience thinking about it.

On a concluding note, movie is a good watch and keeps the audience entertained with its moments. Rajkummar Rao again manages to charm the audience with his sweet, boy next door image. I'd say this movie should not be missed if you’re looking for something to keep you entertained for a while because it does keep one engaged throughout the movie. less

Stree is horror-comedy genre movie. We have had such genre of Bollywood movies in the past as well like Bhool Bhlayiya etc. Stree also takes the less-travelled path of amalgamating horror with comedy and I dare say that it is quite satisfying and endearing in its own way. Directed by Amar Kaushik, the movie stars Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in main roles along with Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee in supporting roles.
Stree is based on the quite famous tale of the Indian urban legend Nale Ba and revolves around the residents of the town of Chanderi, where people believe in the myth of an angry woman ghost, referred to as "Stree", who stalks men during Durga Puja festival. This is explained by the sudden disappearance of these men, leaving their clothes behind.
Vicky, played by Rajkumar Rao, is a tailor in Chanderi who falls in love with a mysterious girl played by Shraddha Kapoor, who is only seen during the festival time. As the film gradually proceeds, the residents of Chanderi and Vicky’s friends start suspecting Vicky’s mysterious girlfriend to be Stree.
Stree is on and on completely a Rajkumar Rao film. As Vicky, he excels himself and it’s truly a delight to watch him onscreen. Shraddha Kapoor as Vicky’s mysterious girlfriend is charming and enigmatic and engages the viewers to maintain the suspense in the air. Pankaj Tripathi as Rudra the Paranologist, is also brilliant and so are the rest of the supporting cast. Stree is entertaining, though the climax and the ending might leave its viewers baffled, but Stree along with some of its laugh-out-loud moments also manages to maintain that eerie feeling among the audiences. Also the movie’s music is one of its main highlights with peppy songs like Milegi-milegi, Kamariya and aao Kabhi Haveli Par making the movie a roller coaster ride.

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Stree: Beware! There might be a beautiful girl awaiting you on the next turn!!!

Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurrana, Pankaj Tripathi and Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 4/5
Release Date: 31 August 2018

In this Indian society where we grew up watching movies with dialogues like “Mard ko Dard nahi hota” and “Churiyaan pehen rakhi hain kya”, here is a movie which will perfectly blend in the concept of “Mard ko bhi Dard hota hai” and “Churiyaan pehen lijiye, raksha krengi”.
Set up in the town of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, “Stree” is a horror-comedy, written by Raj and DK offering an equivalent mix of laughs and shocks in a runtime of two hours.

Stree is the story of a young man Vicky (Rao) who falls in love with a mysterious girl (Shraddha) who visits his village every year during the days of pooja, but never enters the temple, or makes her name known and does not even own a mobile phone. Spooky right? Well, what adds to the mystery of this girl is that the village is haunted by a female ghost, who targets men, luring them into her trap by seducingly calling after their names in the darkness of the night, and the moment you turn around, poof, you vanish into thin air leaving all your clothes behind. The story takes up a toll when Vicky’s best friend vanishes into the night without a trace and Vicky vows to solve the mystery of this female ghost, which might also be the girl who he loves.

Apart from the knockout performance by Rajkummar Rao as always and the beautiful diva Shraddha Kapoor playing as the maybe lurking spirit of a woman, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurrana put out an amazing performance leaving you in spirls of laughter. Pankaj Tripathi, playing the role of a gyaani, having expertise in the subject of ghosts is as delightful to watch as the chocolate at the end of your cornetto.

So with a light-hearted comedy with spooky effects, I would suggest you order a large tub of popcorn and a large coke to treat yourself while you entertain yourself with the story of Vicky and.. What’s the name of the girl he is in love with? Well, you will have to watch the movie to find out. less

So a comic-horror tale of a ‘daayan’ terrorizing a village turns out to be a shout out for a woman’s need to be loved and respected for who she is, rather than treated as an object of lust. Director Amar Kaushik‘s attempt to shine a light on the rampant misogyny and patriarchy deeply rooted in our system, in the guise of a folklore about a female ghost who returns to haunt the men of Chanderi town every year to extract her revenge, delivers the thrills of a spine-chiller partly, while managing to evoke laughter throughout. And that by no means, is a mean achievement as horror and comedy belong on the two extreme ends of the entertainment spectrum, both evoking entirely different sets of emotions.

The film sets the eerie mood right at the outset in the opening frame, with its camera panning the deserted lanes and by-lanes of the town in the dead of the night, pausing only to read the message scrawled in red outside every house, “O Stree, kal aana”. These words, as is later disclosed, are apparently the only thing that can stall the ghostly enchantress in her tracks from stalking and kidnapping a male, leaving behind no trace of him except for his clothes!

Rajkummar Rao, in the role of a gifted ladies’ tailor, with his usual flair brings effortless realism to his character succeeding at being funny, romantic and terrified at the same time. He is assisted ably by the two newbie actors, Aparshakti Khurrana and Abhishek Banerjee, who play his cronies and the talented Pankaj Tripathi, who leaves us wanting more in the role of a self-proclaimed Hindi pundit. Shraddha Kapoor plays her part fairly well as the mysterious femme fatale. The easy-going humor with dialogues touching on many current thorny issues like the mandatory Aadhar linkage or the fiasco of ‘peacock tears impregnating the peahen’ mostly manage to keep up the pace of the movie, which only slackens somewhat post-interval during the quest to outdo the malevolent temptress.

Despite its frailties, the movie must be appreciated for its bold, uncommon premise of attempting to humor in a terrifying backdrop, while also making a case against sexism. And while at it, it sure was fun watching men afraid to step outdoors after dark and women admonishing them to get indoors for their safety from the “chudail”! Only grouch, a titillating item number had no business being in a movie that wishes to preach about objectification of women in the first place. less