: A franchise that betrays its feminist promise

When Stree released in 2018, it was celebrated for its innovative use of horror-comedy to generously critique the terrifying, everyday nature of patriarchal norms. The film particularly highlighted the demonisation and veneration of women, especially those from marginalised communities like sex workers. It boldly challenged the devaluation of sex workers by suggesting that these women deserve not only love but also a life of dignity and respect.

However, Stree 2 disappointingly abandons these feminist values, prioritising franchise expansion over enriching its critical, feminist, and anti-oppressive perspectives that made the original film revolutionary.
In Stree 2, the revelation that Shraddha Kapoor’s unnamed character is the daughter of Stree introduces a compelling narrative layer, especially when juxtaposed with Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and his background as a son of a sex worker.
In the first film, Vicky wasn’t just a male saviour; he was a son grappling with his biases against sex workers while fighting for a marginalised woman’s soul. Shraddha’s similar legacy could have been a profound narrative opportunity, exploring shared experiences of trauma and marginalisation. Both characters, born to mothers dehumanised by society, could have confronted not just a supernatural entity but also the real-world legacies of systemic violence against women, particularly those in marginalised communities like sex workers. This shared lineage had the potential to unite them in a quest for justice and a radical reimagining of societal values.
The film briefly attempts to address the need to battle shared intergenerational trauma collaboratively by suggesting the unity of both their body-minds against patriarchal oppression, especially as children of sex workers. However, this potential is squandered when a pivotal moment, where Vicky and Shraddha’s characters and their bodies merge, is reduced to a “comedic” moment of Vicky groping her.
This transforms what could have been a radical exploration of what Shraddha Kapoor’s unnamed character calls a “soul connection” into a tired heteronormative romance, undermining the fact that this film’s plot was literally built on the realities of sexual violence.
In light of the RG Kar Hospital incident, sex workers in Sonagachi, Kolkata, have faced immense societal stigma and systemic violence, with some even urging men to “debase them” rather than assault women from other communities, underscoring the urgent need to humanise and dignify their lives—an opportunity Stree 2 missed in favour of superficial storytelling.
Stree 2 tries to expand the haunting world of its predecessor by introducing new threats and deepening the town’s eerie lore. The original Stree hinted at the dangers of male entitlement, with the central ghost symbolising feminist rage against men who treated women as sexual objects.
The new film had the potential to expand on this theme by introducing a ghost that abducts modern Indian women and turns men’s vision into one of rage-filled hatred for women. This cultural phenomenon has become increasingly visible through figures like Andrew Tate, who propagate misogynistic ideologies and turn young men against modern women who do not follow traditional patriarchal norms.
Sarkata, a headless figure representing similar hate-filled ideological blind rage, could have been a powerful symbol for the corruption of men’s perspectives, showing how patriarchal violence dehumanises women and corrupts men’s ways of seeing the world. Unfortunately, Stree 2 falls short of this promise, failing to fully engage with Sarkata’s potential and instead reducing the character to a more superficial, fear-driven entity.
Moreover, the original Stree treated the disappearances of men with gravity and urgency without relating them to the women around them. In contrast, Stree 2 downplays the disappearances of women like Shama and Chitti, mourning them primarily as lost lovers, reducing their significance to mere narrative devices for male character development.
As Stree 2 abandons much of its anti-systemic edge, it heavily relies on ableist, homophobic, and transphobic humour, particularly in the treatment of Jaana (Abhishek Banerjee). In the original film, Jaana embodied vulnerability and kindness, traits that allowed him to survive where others fell victim. However, in the sequel, Jaana is subjected to transphobic jokes and relentless bullying, reducing his gentleness to a punchline. This disappointing regression reflects a broader discomfort with non-traditional expressions of masculinity and queerness, undercutting the feminist themes the franchise initially sought to explore.
Additionally, the storyline is further diluted by the problematic setting of a stereotypical and ableist depiction of a mental asylum, where the narrative integrity is sacrificed for the thrill of special appearances by A-list actors like Akshay Kumar.
The original Stree ended with the phrase “Stree, Raksha Karna (Woman, protect us),” which, while seemingly innocent, hinted at the problematic dynamic where women are either feared, objectified, or venerated—never truly seen as autonomous individuals with dignity.
In hindsight, this message feels like a premonition of the dilution of the film’s feminist promise. Stree 2 shifts from a nuanced critique of patriarchal control to a shallow, regressive narrative, choosing to end with a song where the focus turns to a woman deceiving a man by not coming to the “khet” (fields). This lyrical and post-credit placement choice is especially grotesque considering the horrific real-world context of sexual violence in rural India, where fields have been sites of brutal assaults, as seen in the Hathras case.
The sequel’s trivialisation of these grave issues not only betrays the message of the original film but also reflects an ironic and disturbing indifference to the very real violence that continues to affect marginalised women.
Ultimately, as a viewer who has suffered sexual violence and found much joy and relief in the narrative politics of Stree, I came out disappointed and heartbroken after watching Stree 2. Yet again, violence against women was just a plot device played up for gags and thrill, and not for genuine extension of care and accountability via sensitive storytelling.
Dr Prerna Subramanian is Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School. The views expressed are personal