If Childhood Horror Tales Still Haunt You, Here's Why It's Essential You Watch 'Stree' ASAP!

This is a story that my childhood friend narrated to me – the memories of which are still are etched in my mind. That was probably my first stint with horror stories.

There was a Peeple tree (Ficus religiosa or sacred fig)?in the park, where I, along with the friends, used to play. This friend of mine told me that Peeple tree is home to many ghosts and if you go near them, the ghosts will chase you, possess your body and never leave.

It’s only after I grew up that I got to know that since Peeple tree releases a great amount of carbon dioxide, people in the ancient times never used to go rest under it at night. That’s the reason why this myth started spreading.

We all have heard many such horror stories and myths that were busted by facts and logic once we grew up, right? Another one that you all might have heard was to not go out in groups at night and never turn back when someone calls your name, or never wear perfume and go to a graveyard since that attracted evil spirits.

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor starrer horror comedy is actually based on one such “ridiculously true phenomenon”

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“O Stree Kal Aana” – have you ever heard of this popular folk legend? In small towns mostly, you will find this written on the doors of a lot of houses. It is believed that a bridal ghost roams around and knocks at every house at night. If you open the door, she kills you. So, some people started writing “Nale Ba” outside their houses – which means “come tomorrow” in Kannada – to deter the entry of this evil spirit. The story of Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor starrer revolves around this very folklore.

It is believed that when people shoot for a horror film, ghosts get offended. We don’t know if that’s true but people fell sick on the sets of Stree while shooting for the movie!

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Director Amar Kaushik in an interview said that they shot at a lot of haunted locations. At one of them, some people from the crew of the movie fell sick, lights went out and the SteadyCam had stopped working. They were so scared that they decided to pack-up before midnight.

Also Read: Cambodian Actress Allegedly Gets Possessed By A Spirit While Playing Ghost For A Horror Film

While shooting at haunted places, the cast and crew took safety precautions too.

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Stree was shot in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal. It is said that producer Dinesh Vijan chose Bhopal because of the mysterious stories that he had heard about the place. When the cast and the crew of the movie reached the location, the locals told them about the unexplained events and the safety precautions that they shall take. They ended up following a lot of guidelines.

Stree is horror film with an element of fun in it.

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Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor starrer is not a regular horror film, it is a horror comedy. This genre is not new to Bollywood. Remember Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chamatkaar, in which Naseerudding Shah (as Amar Kumar) plays a ghost? Or Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Bhoothnath or Golmaal Again? Horror comedy films have proved to be more successful in Bollywood than horror films. Stree looks pretty interesting too.?

Set in a small town, Stree revolves around a female ghost that only haunts men.

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The movie is more exciting for the fact that it stars Rajkummar Rao, who has proved his acting mettle with a lot of films including Newton, Trapped, City Lights, Omerta and Aligarh among others. Apart from him, Stree has Pankaj Tripathi, Shraddha Kapoor, Aparshakti Khurrana and Vijay Raaz in prominent roles. Directed by Amar Kaushik, Stree has been produced by Dinesh Vijan and Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.

The director says the movie has a message too.

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“Our film has a strong message from women’s point of view. Our elders often say that women should not venture out alone after evenings because of miscreants but in our movie we warn men not to venture out alone at night and even if they do they should go out wrapped in saree,” Amar Kaushik was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.

Sounds like a good film, right? Stree is slated to release on Aug 31. We strongly recommend you give this movie a shot.