Men shouldn’t step out alone at night

Actors Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee tell Chahak Mittal how Stree turns the world upside down by making it an unsafe place for men

Imagine that you’re walking down a lonely street alone at the midnight hour. Even the thought would give you goosebumps down the length of your body, right? What if a mysterious voice calls you from behind and you feel that you were being followed? Would you turn around? We have grown up listening to stories about lonely spirits spooking someone deep into the night and they continue to populate oral storytelling.

Stree, a horror comedy, is playing on the childhood nostalgia and highlighting the reality of a superstitious society. Directed by Amar Kaushik, starring Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana, Shraddha Kapoor, and Abhishek Banerjee, the film talks about a strange woman in the town of Chanderi, who calls out the names of men and knocks their doors at night. The one who opens the door is doomed to be her prey. The movie is produced by Dinesh Vijan and and is penned by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.

While the film is a horror comedy, Rao believes that it is a “rare genre, which not many have explored yet in the country.” He says, “When Raj and DK told me the story, I was laughing throughout. The film has amazing characters and is based on a real scenario.” The writers were inspired by an incident from their town where people would write ‘O stree kal aana,’ (O woman, come tomorrow) in Telugu outside their homes as a charm against this woman who abducted men and left their clothes behind.

Khurana, actor-cricketer-anchor-RJ, who rose to fame through Dangal, says “he was extremely excited to play the role. Very seldom this happens that you enter into a very different world while reading. I had never heard such a story in my life. Even in Dangal, people knew who Geeta and Babita Phogat were. Everyone has an idea about the story but something like has not been told before. Also, after hearing about the cast, I had to do it.”

Abhishek Banerjee, who was the casting director for Pari and Ajji, and is now on the other side for Stree, feels “very attracted to the horror genre.” However, it is not the reason why he always plays around with the same genre for his films. He says, “I never thought about it. I love horror as an audience. I find it a very tricky genre because here you really need to look convincing, as an actor, to play the role so that it doesn’t appear tacky. It’s challenging. Hence, I take it as a challenge too. Also, it was never planned. Ajji was a psychological thriller. I do love the dark space but I’d love to do some drama films as well. Mirzapur is one such series that I have done. I am not one of the primary cast but even the character that I have, I’d love to do something like that again.”

There is a role reversal between men and women in the film. Rao explains: “The film is purely for entertainment. But there is a subtle ironic and social element about the lives and safety of girls. We say that girls shouldn’t step out of their homes late at night. In this film, men are the ones who aren’t allowed to step out of the house all alone, especially at night.” He questions, “Why should only women follow the rules and stay put, why not men?”

Banerjee brings forth another aspect in the film, “Firstly, the audience would get to know whether or not Shraddha is the ‘stree’ in the film. The concept of chudail (witch) as people believe may be negative, but there is some positivity in this witch. There is a human element to her. Our chudail isn’t a vampire or evil. She has a purpose.” He adds, “Also, Indians are not used to looking at women in power. But in Chanderi, the women are a powerful entity. It’s not the minister, or sarpanch or any king, here she rules the place.”

The myth that birthed the film is spread not only across Karnataka but across the country too.  Banerjee says, “Since my childhood I have been hearing urban legends. Not only about Karnataka, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, but also in Delhi. There used to be a famous superstition that said ‘darwaaze ke bahar pyaaz rakhna aur chudail nahi aayegi’ (place an onion outside the door and the witch won’t come). It’s a very common story and the film mixes these urban legends putting it across as a satirical story to expose the many problems that plague India, not in a preachy way but a very light-hearted way.”

Even though Banerjee worked with Rao and Khurana for the first time they became friends pretty early in the shoot. “Shooting time was just like a party for us. We used to cook together and sing songs. We had fun but everyone was also disciplined at the same time,” he says.

When asked how one simulates fear for a role, Khurana says, “I don’t believe in ghosts and superstitions at all. I don’t care if a cat crosses my way. We have two different ways and there’s no point of debate there. I don’t care whether one shouldn’t get a haircut on Tuesdays. When a person doesn’t believe in ghosts and such things, they don’t get scared. So, it was a bit difficult for me to enact that, because I really don’t get scared.”

Rao believes the same. “I never believed in such superstitions. I have never had any such visuals in my mind. As a kid though, we all have heard such stories and believed in them. I also did. But when I grew up I realised they’re myths and you tend to become more practical in life,” he says.

Bollywood is gradually moving towards realism, through period dramas, biopics, issue-based films or sports biopics, and Rao is part of that change.  He has moved swiftly between genres while performing each with equal intensity.

Rao says, “Change is definitely there. I feel wonderful to be associated with that change. I am very happy that I have contributed to this evolution of the Indian cinema. I started with Love Sex aur Dhokha, which is one of the most realistic films, I think. My story was from the point of view of a  CCTV camera, so it couldn’t have been fake. Also, I really like showcasing reality on the screen and working for something that shows the real world. Of course, there might be films in my career where I would be selling dreams, and it would be a very fictional character. But as of now, I try to keep things very real, be in personal life or reel life. It’s more relatable and reaches the audience.”

And how much has he changed with the changing scenario? He says, “Rajkummar Rao hasn’t changed at all. Nothing has changed around or about me. Probably, I am not the right person to ask about it. But it could be asked from the people around me. And why to change? (Laughs) There’s no reason I have to change myself.”

Photo: Pankaj Kumar