Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree 2 Success Sparks PR Battle: Who gets what? 

The phenomenal success of Stree 2 has not only shattered box office records but also ignited a spirited debate over who should get the lion’s share of the credit: Rajkummar Rao or Shraddha Kapoor? The movie, which was released on August 15, went a notch higher than trade expectations and collected close to Rs 64 crore on the first day. This figure, including paid previews, puts Stree 2 on the list of biggest grossers of the year, just behind Jawan, starring Shah Rukh Khan. But the war that has followed as to who has attracted more of the audience’s attention seems to be the primary event.

The original Stree (2018) was a surprise hit, blending horror with comedy and featuring a memorable tagline: This is really a great achievement; they are saying, ‘Woh stree hai, woh kuch bhi kar sakti hai’ (She is a woman; she can do anything). Six years later, as its sequel became a blockbuster, the conflict of interest moved to yet another less expected area: credit. The film’s good first weekend was a clear indicator that both the fandom and critics were eager to claim one of the movie’s stars as being responsible for its success.  (Also read : https://test.inpactimes.com/5-reasons-why-stree-2-created-storm-after-its-release/)

The PR maneuver 

The marketing strategy of Stree 2 prominently used Shraddha Kapoor as a brand ambassador; the movie heavily publicized her on social media and other appearances. Market players noted that Kapoor was very much in the picture to ensure that the ticket sales of the film were given a boost during the early days. The focus was frequently placed on her as the main attraction, even in promotional fliers.

On the other hand, Rajkummar Rao, who was an important part of the film, was also part and parcel of the PR campaign for the film. It did not take long before the online conversation started shifting from praising Kapoor’s starring role to whether Rao was the reason for the film’s success. This was compounded by the differing performance figures that were made available when the film opened, meaning that there was a very charged environment in which both actors’ performances were subjected to detailed analysis.

The Broader Context

Another filmmaker, Hansal Mehta, also tried to give a much wider context and said that the film’s success cannot be credited to any particular star. In a tweet, Mehta made it clear that the success story of the sequel is the success story of everyone involved in the movie, particularly the director Amar Kaushik and the screenwriter Niren Bhatt. According to Mehta, such an approach diminishes the success of the film, erasing the fact that filmmaking is a collective effort.

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi said that one might be misleading in attributing success to individual actors. He added that if the opening numbers were more than the lifetime collections of films starring either actor, then it was the work of the filmmakers. Rathi also complained about the PR tactics of elevating the star image, which he found to have the potential to create high expectations in the market and high costs for subsequent productions. 

Industry Insights

Another studio executive concurred with Rathi, saying that the movie could not have been made without unity of effort. The director of Stree, Amar Kaushik, who also directed Bhediya, was instrumental in casting the film and working on the script. This was made possible by a star-studded cast that included Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee, who added to the appeal of the film.

Some senior PR executives observed that, like all actors, when they have a success to their credit, they try and leverage it to make themselves more appealing. What could have been better PR campaigns were for Stree 2. Where the film could have benefited from the creation of a more collective narrative is that instead of presenting separate successes or failures for the contributors, they might have been better served by a more singular approach to the success of the project. 

Conclusion

In general, the sequel is as lovable and hilarious as the first one, but at the same time it offers more horror and sharper social satire, thus solidifying Maddock Films’ horror-comedy shared universe. This success is not only due to the lead actors, Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor, but also to the combined hard work of the whole team.

While the PR war for credit goes on, one thing is evident: the performance of the film is a testament to the efforts of everyone, not an individual.