Shraddha Kapoor Says Stree 2 'Centres Around A Woman' Amid Rajkummar Rao Credit War: 'Reins Of Narrative...'

Amid the ongoing credit war between Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao for the success of Stree 2, the actress has opened up about how the franchise has empowered her. Shraddha Kapoor said that Stree and Stree 2 revolve around a woman’s story – the ghost of Stree – and she is the backbone of the film.

“Stree has empowered me. The film is centred around a woman and she holds the reins of the narrative,” Shraddha Kapoor told Hello! Indo-Arabia in a recent interview. Stree 2 has proven to be one of the biggest films in Shraddha Kapoor’s career and has even fast-tracked her popularity on social media, especially Instagram.

Meanwhile, Stree 2 continues its unstoppable journey at the box office, surpassing the Rs 400 crore mark on its 12th day. The film, starring Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee, has become the seventh Hindi film to join this elite club, standing tall among industry giants like Jawan, Gadar 2, Pathaan, Animal, Baahubali 2 (Hindi), and KGF Chapter 2 (Hindi).

Produced by Maddock Films, Stree 2 has turned into an all-time blockbuster, thanks to its massive box office performance. After recording the biggest second weekend of all time, the film continued to perform exceptionally well, even on its third Monday, benefitting from the partial Janmashtami holiday. The movie added another Rs 18 crore to its collection on this day, bringing its total to an impressive Rs 403.50 crore net in India.

With its current momentum, Stree 2 is set to cross the lifetime Hindi collection of KGF Chapter 2 (Rs 427 crore) within the next few days. Moreover, the film is on track to record the biggest third week in Hindi cinema history. The next major milestone for Stree 2 is the Rs 500 crore club, which is now almost certain. Industry experts predict that the film will reach this milestone by next week.

Owing to the film’s massive success, a ‘credit war’ began between Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao for the film’s success. Abhishek Banerjee told Zoom TV, “I don’t understand PR. I don’t understand the kind of conversations that happen on social media. Whenever something is successful, there will always be some negative points. Kuch toh negativity chahiye logo ko jisse voh baat karein, cheezon ko bada banaye. We don’t focus on these things.”

He added, “Jab humne shuru kiya tha, hume kisi ne nahi bola tha ki film iski hai ya uski hai. Jab humne film sign ki thi. Aapne khud hi dekha hoga bohot baar logo ne bola hai ki Jana ki entry pe log sabse zyada taaliyan bajate hain. Itne bade stars ke beech main kya hai Jana? Yeh film ensemble cast ki film hai. Yeh sabki film hai and that is the beauty of the film jo kisi shor ya comparison se change nahi hoga.”

Aparshakti also commented on the credit war and told Zoom TV, “Main ispe kuch bolunga, baat khulegi toh door tak jaayegi, main kuch bolna nahin chahunga, audience jo kahe wo sahi hai”. He said that while the film is minting money at the box office, there is a “PR game” going on of “upping and downing somebody”.

Directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films, the film is the sequel to 2018’s Stree. The filmmaker has previously confirmed that a third instalment, Stree 2, is also under works.