Spooky, quaint and fun

Nonika Singh

So low is the bar of horror films in India that when a film is touted as horror- comedy, you expect nothing; even when the film boasts of national award winning actors. 

But guess what Stree is that rare film which defies the norm and lives up to its genre every which way.  Though it is hard to decide whether the film is more comic or horrifying as it treads the fine line rather well. To be honest it does but finally veers towards humour more. 

But this, mind you, is no slapstick comedy but intelligent humour which is powered as much by the dialogues as expressions. Actors at hand make it such a fine sailing that nothing seems out of place. 

If Rajkummar Rao (Vicky), the nuanced actor, gets each inflection of his part just right, Aparshakti Khurana matches him step to step in the humour department for sure. Khurana has the best rib-tickling one liners. ‘Kisne socha tha 500-600 saal mein pyar ki itni durgati ho jayegi...’ is just one if the many that tickles your funny bone. Pankaj Triparhi as witch doctor of sorts, who claims to know it all, ‘mujhe sab pata hai’ is consummate as always.

Only one wishes he had a slightly meatier part. But the film essentially belongs to Rao and his friends (there is Abhishek Banerjee as Dana too) who rock and reign. Sure Shraddha Kapoor is able to imbue just the right degree of mystery and mystique to her ‘now you see her now you don’t’ part that is as much flesh and blood as an apparition.

Is she the stree who comes each year to haunt Chanderi and whisk away men; the question has you on tenterhooks till the first half. In the second part the suspense moves in a different direction. 

Stree has a back story goes without saying, that the story epitomises injustice done to women-kind too goes without saying. In a country where women are always at the receiving end, Stree turns the safety concern upside down.

Here it’s men on the run and without clothes at that. Of course, women unlike men don’t force themselves even when they unleash horror, is one of the few telling observations woven in the narrative.

The climax is as socially correct as possible and a reminder of what women, yes ghosts too, really want. But it’s not just the significant final message that makes the film worth its while. All through it there isn’t a single moment when the film loses you even when it brings in bunkum lizard’s tale, white cat’s hair et al. Besides, it packs chills and scares, without turning ghoulish. 

In the beginning, we are told the film is based on a ridiculous (bad translation of the word vichitra) incident.

However, even in its absurd moments, writing and directorial vision are at the top of the game. There is a sense of sensitivity and sensibility and oodles of fun even when men are possessed and daayan roams free. Engaging is this cup of horror; spooky and spoofy which you can watch without flinching or squirming. Entertaining all the way here even the simplest monosyllabic ‘theek hai’ that Rao utters becomes pregnant with meaning.  

Rao’s tailor act ‘Manish Malhotra of Chanderi’ is a reinforcement of what a brilliant actor he is. The fact that the village needs a man as a saviour is perhaps the only downer in the film that has a feminist core all through. Or perhaps, hold it; his identity is as symbolic a comment as much else in the film. Except for the item song, there is little that is superfluous. The underlying subtexts in no way dampen the mirth quotient. Grab your ticket...spookfest has rarely been more satisfying.

nonikasingh@tribunemail.com