Amongst everything else, Stree Gets feminism right. Here's Why?

Despite rampant enabling measures targeted at women empowerment, the world’s population is continually bifurcated into “fairer sex” and the “weaker sex”. A plethora of women having endured innumerable instances of sustained societal and institutional oppression are profusely desirous of attaining the “privilege” that comes with being born as a man.

                                                         

Stree transposes you to a hypothetical world, where men for an episodic phase are not only envious of the opposite sex but also rely on them, seeking protection. A particular scene in the film incorporates the helplessness of a man earnestly pleading his wife to return early for he fears staying alone at home. Drawing its premise from tales of horror running across streets of small towns, the narrative craftly endeavors to address female oppression and gender in-equality sinuously ingrained in the Indian Society.

Rajkumar Rao, the self-proclaimed Manish Malhotra of Chanderi, a small town in Madhya Pradesh makes a living off sewing women’s garments in his father’s tailoring shop. There is a ghost scare in the town concerning a woman who preys on men in the middle of the night as a result of which they are strictly advised against venturing out alone at night. The women on the other hand are absolutely unperturbed, except for fretting over the safety of their baap-bhais. The social satire demonstrates a seasoned barter of the man’s world with that of the women where the maa-behen don’t get screwed! They BLOODY RULE!!

Mind you! The film is not an “in-the-face” women empowerment initiative, it is mildly entrenched with feminist undertones the first of which comes on display where all-male-household derive their earnings via catering to a women’s choice of apparel. What follows next is a series of events, where the belongingness to the weaker sex is a distinguished luxury.

Regardless of its potential, Horror-Comedy as a theme has been under-exploited by Hindi filmmakers. Any previous attempts to foray into the intractable genre had stimulated perverse audience reactions. Stree, adequately makes up by first-rate content terrifically executed with a narrative that holds both the contrasting elements of horror and comedy firmly in place. The humor isn’t forced or cheeky, and the horror does give you the initial chills although progressing through the film, you kind of settle into it.

The movie is far from being perfect, but the casting definitely is. The intricately layered narrative is devoid of complex layered characters, yet the film boasts of a stellar ensemble who besides their individual excellence click together as a unit.

Shraddha Kapoor who in most of her screen outings looks out of place fits well into the story and carries it forward with the correct amount of emotion and expression. Rajkumar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi are a formidable force to reckon and films like Newton and Bereily ki Barfi are proof enough. Taking their chemistry, a notch higher, together, both these stalwarts of method acting deliver the best of the scenes in Stree. Aparshakti Khurana deserves a special mention, this supremely talented man is slowly getting out there. It may take a while for him to make it big but let me mention the fact ; despite the star Rajkumar Rao is, Stree happens to be his first COMMERCIAL SOLO release in a career spanning almost a decade.

To divulge more will be giving into the plot of the film hence summing it up, Stree isn’t a formula film. It is original, unconventional and entertaining. I haven’t enjoyed the theatrical experience of loud laughs, giggles, claps and cheers for the longest time and this film more than made up for it. Stree is a breath of fresh air in the film industry currently stagnated with biopics and patriotic films. More than that, it a satisfying and fulfilling take on women’s liberation.