A still from “Stree 2”

In Street 2Vicky, the lovable small-town beauty played by Rajkummar Rao, is reminded that his greatest strengths in life are:Sachai and Saralta‘ – truth and simplicity. Even though the film itself has a kernel of truth – its villain is a chauvinistic headless monster, comparable to a modern-day “influencer” who corrupts the minds of young men – such ideas are gradually buried in a smog of franchise complexity. Street 2directed by Amar Kaushik, lives off the charm of the original. But unlike the first film, which seemed tailor-made, it feels like it’s brand new.

Having freed his beloved Chanderi from the menace of Stree – a terrifying female ghost who abducted lonely men at night – dressmaker Vicky is now a lovesick drunkard. He pines for and frequently dreams of the girl with no name (Shraddha Kapoor) who left town with Stree’s braid at the end of the first film and has not been seen since. Vicky’s friends are no less enamored. Bittu (Aparshakti Khurana) is still settling in with his new flame. And when Rudra bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi), the resident paranologist, receives an unexpected letter – “gupt sandesh” (secret message), as he delightedly puts it – he immediately thinks of his old flame, a woman named Shama.

In truth, the letter is a warning. Its contents testify to strange events taking place in Chanderi: the abduction of young girls by “Sarkata,” a giant demon with an ancient hatred of Stree. Its detachable flying head is the film’s best visual gag, curling up like a harmless ball of wool before attacking its victims with its tentacle-like hair. Literal dreadlocks, so to speak.

In the first half Street 2 has the structure and mood of the original script by Raj & DK (Niren Bhatt wrote the sequel). The puns are consistently funny – “Intimate feast,” Bittu smiles at his lover even though he means intermittent fasting – and there are a number of flashbacks that will delight fans of the first part. Much time is spent developing the plot and assembling the core team. “First Stree, then Bhediya… why am I always stuck?” complains Jana (Abhishek Banerjee), returning from a side trip to Delhi.

The commentary on patriarchy and gender dynamics that gave Kaushik’s debut film a deliberate edge is kept to a minimum here. Sarkata explicitly attacks women with adhunik soch (modern thinking) that includes smoking, drinking and marrying outside one’s own caste. Oddly, Rudra’s suggestion to lure him out involves hosting a dance program, which is hardly a modern invention. Equally bizarre is a scene in which the surviving women of Chanderi unanimously choose Vicky as their savior (this was Streetthrough a personal background story).

Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana in Stree 2

Some of the comic ideas are great. One night, Vicky and his friends are chased by Sarkata and seek refuge in a hollow, wooden room. When they stand there, it turns out that it is the wrong elephant that is on display at the fair. “There is a field beyond right and wrong…” Vicky waxes lyrical at one point, quoting Rock Star“Yes,” replies Bittu. “And next to it is a madhouse.”

Rajkummar Rao is still a hoot as the quivering tailor, a small man caught in a big narrative. He stays true to the basic sweetness of Vicky: “Are you really inside me?” he asks with genuine amazement when Kapoor’s character performs one of her magic tricks, merging their bodies together. Kapoor’s mysterious sorceress is a much stronger presence this time, coolly twirling her glowing ponytail like a lasso. She’s the only superhero presence this film needed, but Kaushik has other plans.

As you already know, Street 2 is part of an evolving cinematic universe. The film ends with a post-credit sequence and then a post-post-credit sequence. An actor who has nothing whatsoever to do with this world is brought into the picture. This is a desperate new trend that has charmed Indian cinema. It may pay off in the short term – as it has with other franchises – but I suspect audiences here will soon tire of it. One is particularly worried about Maddock. Cops, spies and action heroes make sense on a team, as do superheroes, but werewolves and ghosts? Since when are they so chummy?

Stree 2 is currently in cinemas