Rajkummar Rao on Stree 2 success: These numbers are way above our expectations

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's latest film Stree 2 has been doing great business at the box office. The film has earned over Rs 5 billion globally within 10 days of release. In a recent interview, Rao admitted that he did not expect the movie to do so well. 

While speaking to News18, Rao opened up about the film's box office success and called the Amar Kaushik film a 'content-driven' film. 

'Numbers way above our expectations'

"We were sure that the film (Stree 2) would get lot of love because of the love that Stree 1 got. There’s a big fan-following for Stree, including me. I am a huge fan of Stree myself. But these numbers are way above our expectations. We are glad and super elated. There’s a lot of gratitude that this is happening with a film like Stree because it is a content-driven film,” he added. 

Days of Struggle

Rao added, “There’s a lot of gratitude. God has been really kind. I have got a lot of love from the audience and they have accepted me for who I am. I have come from nowhere. I come from a very humble beginning. I didn’t grow up with money around me. I am one of their [audience’s] own. A lot of messages I get say that it feels like a personal victory, which is overwhelming.”

The actor also admitted that his journey in films wasn't easy. The actor spoke about his theatre days in Delhi and revealed that on some days he did not have money to take a state transport, so he would 'cycle 70 km up and down'. Then, after coming to Mumbai post-FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), he struggled 'to survive' in the 'expensive city', adding he didn’t know anyone, ‘where to start, who to meet’.

Stree 2 is unstoppable! Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor-starrer earns Rs 400 crore worldwide

About Stree 2

Directed by Amar Kaushik, the sequel to Stree (2018) features Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Abhishek Banerjee, Pankaj Tripathi, and Aparshakti Khurana. The film has been backed by Maddock Films and has been doing brisk business at the box office. 

The Independence Day 2024 release has now grossed more than ₹500 crore (Rs 5 billion) worldwide. 

While the prequel revolved around a female ghost, who was wronged in her mortal life, Stree 2 focuses on a headless villain called 'Sarkata' who abducts women with an independent voice. 

WION's review of Stree 2

WION's Shomini Sen in her review stated that the film's second half was 'choppy'. "I wish Stree 2 climax was not so screechy and the second half was not this stretched. I did enjoy watching the film but the second half marred the experience to quite an extent. It ends with a promise of Part 3 and the possibility of a Vampire film being added to the horror universe of Maddock," wrote Sen. Read full review of the film here