The discussion around Stree 2 isn’t just about its historic box office numbers but also, who between Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, should be given bigger credit for pulling in the audience.
Woh stree hai, woh kuch bhi kar sakti hai (she is a woman, she can do anything)’, goes the popular line from Stree, the 2018 horror-comedy which took everyone by storm. While the statement is true, what perhaps the writers of the original film didn’t factor in was that when its sequel would become a blockbuster six years later, it would lead to an amusing, but eventually embarrassing, PR war to claim who is responsible for the success.
Filmmaker Amar Kaushik‘s Stree 2 hit the screens last week on August 15 and broke every trade prediction possible. Initially expected to open between Rs 30-40 cr, the Dinesh Vijan-backed horror comedy recorded thunderous advance booking and eventually clocked in nearly Rs 64 cr on day one (including paid previews on August 14).
While the opening day collections of the horror comedy were humungous — and second only to Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, going by the official figures — a tiny storm kept brewing in the teacups of fans, which eventually snowballed into a PR tornado, dragging with it the two names, who have collectively helped the film reach this stage: Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor (name mentioned in alphabetical order).
The issue — who between the two should be given bigger credit for pulling in the audience? Who contributed more to the historic opening of the film? On whose name did people book the tickets? Whose Stree is it anyway?
“What has happened in the last 1o days is laughable,” a senior publicist, who has worked with all the major movie stars of the industry, told indianexpress.com on the condition of anonymity. “It was limited to fan wars but now has been turned into a spectacle that has not gone unnoticed by anyone in the industry.”
‘Stree 2 Tug of War – The Origins’
Stree 2 debuted with a strong trailer, which was widely well-received. Screenwriter Niren Bhatt’s witty one-liners caught everyone’s attention, as did the banter of the ensemble led by actors Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee. The team then capitalised on Sachin-Jigar’s music as almost every film track became a chartbuster.
Industry insiders noted how the marketing of the film rightly cashed in on the popularity of Shraddha, her pap-spotting with method dressing, interviews, and social media promotions. “Rajkummar may be a superior actor but has a limited pull on the theatre-going audience. It was a well thought out strategy where Shraddha pulls in the audience and Rajkummar captivates them on screen,” the PR source shared.
Cracks started to show when the advance booking numbers came in, making it clear that Stree 2 would surpass all trade expectations. It was, by then, competing with biggies like Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif’s Tiger 3, Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt’s Brahmastra, and Shah Rukh Khan’s underperformer Dunki.
Social media posts started to emerge, especially on paparazzi pages how Shraddha Kapoor would be the “biggest crowd puller” when Stree 2 releases, going miles ahead of “all male stars.” Multiple posts surfaced, with her image and hashtag, calling her the film’s obvious draw. Later, the same post began with how “Rajkummar Rao’s Stree 2” was set to “dominate” the box office with more collections than Brahmastra.
