Being Film #28 for Hooptober 2024
What a delight. I wasn’t aware of just how much I needed a breath of air, some light after mainlining one dour note of horror after another over the course of the month. So thank you 1920 for being borderline unwatchable with no english subtitles on any services (both legal and otherwise) I tried to watch you on; if not for that I would never have come across the wonder that is Stree, a Hindi comedy/horror film that has so much charm and heart and actual things to say while also maintaining a semblance of fright. Oh, ands the musical numbers are straight up bangers.
THE QUICK SUMMARY: In the laid-back town of Chanderi there is a ghostly specter known only as “Stree” (Hindi for “She”) who haunts the annual festival, abducting unwary men and leaving only their clothes behind. Real? Superstition? Out hero Vicky thinks the latter, and is content to moon over the lovely new girl in town when he’s not demonstrating his incredible tailoring powers or hanging with his buds Bittu and Jana. But when some errant urine wipes away the warning to Stree to bypass the house where they’re partying, things get very real indeed. Soon, Vicky and his friends have to figure out how to stop the ghost before all the men are gone, and maybe learn a little about female empowerment and the power of family, respect, and forgiveness at the same time. All that and musical numbers? You have my heart, Stree!
We’re going to go light on the review here, since this will be discussed more in depth in our annual Hooptober episode of the podcast (I’ll link here when it’s up), but I’ll say the biggest thing I came away with watching Stree is the mega-charisma of star Rajkummar Rao. You need someone who can be warm, funny, ridiculous and a hero at the same time, and he carries this film like a champ.
His chemistry with his friends and the mysterious Girl With No Name (played by Shraddha Kapoor) is off the charts – there is a romantic scene where Vicky has to take the Girl’s measurements using his fingers which is so steamy and yet so wholesome (everything is in keeping with the strict rules of Indian film – there’s no blood or nudity to be found)…it’s incredible. Everyone in Stree is engaged and having a great time, and that can’t help but rub off on the viewer.
The horror and supernatural elements are there, and look great, but there isn’t anything too scary – Stree is firmly focused on the more comedic elements. And the social criticism: without giving too much away the reason for what is happening is all due to how the very traditional values of the town treated women, and that is discussed in a pivotal scene that works because the rest of the film shows how those values have changed. It’s a wonderful pivot in the film because once we understand that, it completely changes how the film resolves. Usually in a film like this you’re trying to destroy the “evil” entity once and for all, but Stree takes a very different approach and it’s fantastic.
Finally the best news of all: not only is there a sequel with all the major players returning, but apparently this is part of a shred universe? Sign me up; after the late dismal track record of the MCU and the wait for the new DC this will suit me just fine…
Cinema Dual 
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