Stree 2 Exclusive: Writer Niren Bhatt says there's still mystery around Shraddha Kapoor's character, 'We'll try to answer it in forthcoming films'

Stree 2, starring Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurana, has taken the box office by storm. Released on August 15, the film has already surpassed Rs 400 crore at the Indian box office. Directed by Amar Kaushik, this movie is the much-anticipated sequel to the 2018 superhit Stree. The sequel's story is written by Niren Bhatt, who also collaborated with Amar on Bhediya and penned the screenplay for Aditya Sarpotdar's Munjya.

In an exclusive conversation with BollywoodLife, Stree 2 writer Niren Bhatt shared his reaction to the movie's phenomenal box office success. When asked if he or anyone else had anticipated such impressive earnings in a short span, Niren said, "No, obviously, we didn't expect this. We actually don't know how to react to this success; it's so overwhelming. Apart from the box office numbers and the immense love we're receiving, it's incredible that people we haven't been in touch with for 20 or 25 years school friends, college friends, even relatives we had forgotten are reaching out. They're finding us on Instagram or Facebook, or through common friends, and messaging us to say they saw the movie and loved it. The response has been overwhelming for all of us the actors and the technicians. We never expected so much love. While we knew the film would be appreciated and received well, we didn't anticipate this magnitude of response."

Regarding the transition from the cliffhanger ending of the first film to the new story in Stree 2, we asked Niren how the sequel shifts focus to Sarkata's story and introduces Jana's (Abhishek Banerjee) newfound powers that bridge the two worlds. The audience responded positively to the new villain. Niren explained, "While we were writing Bhediya, I had this thing in mind that throughout the film he's called JD. In the post-credit scene, when Bittu and Vicky come, that's when we realise he's actually Jana. That's where we also established that he has this kind of thing where he attracts supernatural forces to him."

Watch a video on Stree 2

Niren further elaborated that in the first film, Stree abducts Jana; he was also the only one present when Bhediya happened, and only he can see through Sarkata's world. Even though the story's main villain is Sarkata, who wants to establish his power in Chanderi, they aimed to keep the mystery surrounding Shraddha Kapoor's character ongoing. Niren shared, "But we sort of wanted to keep the mystery around Shraddha Kapoor's character intact. We answered at the end of the film about who she is and why she was doing the whole thing. But still, there is some mystery about her, and of course, we'll try to answer it in the forthcoming films of the franchise."

During the trailer launch, producer Dinesh Vijan confirmed that they're already working on Stree 3, the third installment starring Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor along with others.