Nale Ba: The real story of the Bengaluru witch that inspired Stree

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor latest new movie, Stree is finally out. The horror comedy is being lauded by the critics for the performance of its actors, its comedy and also for its commentary on society and its treatment of women.

However, in all of this, one important aspect of the film has been overshadowed -- the horror. Stree tells the story of fictional Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, haunted by a woman’s ghost. According to legend, ‘Stree’ descends upon the town every year on the first fours nights of Navratri. She preys on men and hunts at night. To keep themselves away from her clutches, the men dress as women and paint the walls of their homes with ‘Oh Stree, kal aana.’ And she lets them be.

A still from Stree.

As spooky as this may sound, the story is indeed inspired by ‘ridiculously true events’, as the trailer for the film suggests. In 1990s, a witch haunted Bengaluru and its residents for years and her legend is still famous in several areas around the city.

Legend says that a witch would come knocking at people’s doors every night and if they opened it for her, she would murder the you. Why would people open their doors for a witch? Because she would speak in the voices of their friends or family members.

To ward her away, the town’s residents would write on their walls, “Nale Ba” which means ‘don’t come here’ in Kannada. The witch would read the inscription on the walls and turn away, only to return the next day and the cycle would continue perennially.

Of course, the story spread like wildfire around Bengaluru. Soon, as time went by and people realised they had no time for urban legends and superstitions, the story died and so did the witch of Nale Ba. Another urban legend that had a city in its grip included Monkey Man in 2001. It also died a natural death but not before it led to mass hysteria.

With Rajkummar’s film, we hope no more witches gain the motivation to spring back into existence. But if they do, we are sure the internet will definitely ward her away with hilarious memes.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

First Published: Sep 01, 2018 08:42 IST