The cast and crew of 'Stree'.
Credit: X/@rajndk
New Delhi: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, writers and producers of Stree, marked the six year anniversary of the popular horror-comedy franchise in a lengthy heartfelt note in which they reflected upon how they finished the script in three weeks and how the film went on to become a phenomenon.
Raj, one-half of the writing duo, said they came up with the story of Stree, based on the urban legend of Naale Ba, at a time when their production banner D2R Films was facing back-to-back flops, including 2017's A Gentleman starring Sidharth Malhotra.
"And a film was made at the smallest budget possible and dared to go into theatres without a formula, and not following the norms. Edits were changed, interval points were invented… But the original core story only got stronger at every step.
"It was the fastest film we ever made. I guess that is what happens when you have a point to prove, to yourself. On the cusp of the release, we knew something magical was going to happen. And it happened!" he wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
Stree opened in theatres on August 31, 2018 to glowing reviews and went on to become a box office success. Directed by first-time filmmaker Amar Kaushik, the horror comedy starred Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana.
"Aug 31, 2018. A ridiculous story, defying all odds, became a phenomenon. Glad we went back to our roots. Glad we stuck to the films we want to make. Glad this was the first Hindi film we produced. A renewed second innings of D2R Films started, on our terms with our kind of stories and with no compromises. The Family Man, Farzi, Guns & Gulaabs, Cinemabandi, Citadel, Honey Bunny, Gulkanda Tales, Rakt Brahmand… all followed," he added in the post.
Raj said he and DK wanted to make "original and unique" films and so one day he typed out on a blank page: "O Stree, Kal Aana!"
"I dug into one of my lasting childhood visuals -every other wall in my hometown covered with the scribbling, 'O Stree, repu raa'. And I thought, what if she can't read Telugu? Why is she getting fooled by a silly trick to come tomorrow, again and again? "What if she still didn't care and wanted to come inside? I had let these crazy/silly ideas float in my head for years," he wrote.
After he discussed the idea with DK, they realised that it couldn't just be a "silly comedy or a silly horror film" and that's how they came up with the idea of "gender reversal".
Stree revolved around a female ghost who haunted the men of the small town of Chanderi so much so that they were afraid to step out of their homes at nightfall, a spin on what daily life looks like for women off screen.
"What if men were the ones afraid to go out at night? What if men had to go through what innumerable women have to deal with every day?"
A little coffee shop in Andheri West became the office for the banner.
"That’s where we met all the crew, all the actors, discovered a great writer-friend at the next table, and discussed endlessly how to start production on this film (like so many filmmakers do at coffee shops). Ironically as soon as the script was done and the shoot was getting ready, the BMC pulled down that sweet little coffeeshop." Soon, they found a crew that was ready to buy into this "silly story".
"A cast was cajoled into doing this film despite it being nonconforming. A film started getting shot despite there being no precedent for this kind. A super friendly fun shoot happened in the tiniest of the towns, Chanderi, where we stayed in guesthouses and schools, shot all over the town and played Mafia at nights. Many lasting bonds were formed," Raj said.
The writer-producer said it wouldn't have been possible without the coffee shop, failures, two-decade-old friendships, and the firm belief that "even our kind of stories can break mainstream norms".
"I guess every failure is an opportunity to grow. And every heartbreak is a chance to cleanse and recreate. Thank you, wholeheartedly, for everyone who backed us, believed in us and loved our stories," he wrote.
The success of Stree, also backed by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films, spawned a franchise, the latest offering being Stree 2, its sequel.
The follow-up released on August 15 and is nearing Rs 600 crore mark at the gross box office collections worldwide. Films such as Bhediya and Munjya are also part of the horror comedy universe.