Actor Rajkummar Rao says his upcoming film "Stree 2", the highly anticipated sequel of the hit horror comedy, belongs to the audiences who he hopes will enjoy the movie when they watch it in theatres on Thursday.

The actor was speaking at a press conference held at the national capital on Wednesday.

"Stree", about a small town terrorised by a female ghost, was released in 2018 and became an instant box office and critical hit “‘Stree’ has always given us a lot. For everyone’s career, the first ‘Stree’ provided a big jump. I hope ‘Stree 2’ will also give another jump. All this has been possible because of your love.

“I feel absolutely thrilled. It’s so much fun to be a part of the film. It is no longer our film, it is your film. Go watch the film and have a great time,” Rao told reporters here.

The event was also attended by film's director Amar Kaushik, producer Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films and other cast members Shraddha Kapoor, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee.

The characters, who successfully solved the mystery of the female ghost in the first film, will now battle a new terror in the form of a ghost who only has a head, aptly called Sarkata. "Stree 2" will also delve into the mystery surrounding the character played by Kapoor.

Kapoor said “Stree” is a special film.

“The film received so much love and now the second part is about to come. The excitement that we are witnessing here, it’s very special,” she added.

The actor also described the horror comedy as an empowering movie.

“‘Stree’ is a very powerful film. It’s incredible that Dinesh decided to make a film that makes society think. I feel very empowered,” she said.

“Stree 2” is set to be released on Thursday, coinciding with the Independence Day celebrations, alongside other Hindi films “Vedaa” and “Khel Khel Mein”. Tamil film "Thangalaan" and Telugu movies "Double iSmart" and "Mr Bachchan" are also vying for audience's attention the same day.

“We hope that all the films do well and if all films work, it would be great for our industry,” Kapoor said.

Kaushik, who also directed “Stree”, said Rao needs to do more films in the comedy genre.

“Everyone knows Rajkummar Rao is a very good actor, but his comic timing is impeccable. I have to give it to him. We urge him to do more comedy and I actually believe it’s his most wholesome performance,” the director said.

“I think I haven’t done anything like ‘Stree’ in my career before. I did a film ‘Ajji’ where I portrayed a very scary role,” said Banerjee.

Khurrana said the entire crew of the original film returned to shoot for “Stree 2”, which doesn’t happen often.

“The most special thing about the film is that each and every person attached to the film came back after six years. The same actors, the same producers and even ADs were the same. The second part was to be made and all the crew was the same and I think that is something that makes the film special,” he added.

Vijan, the man behind Maddock Films horror comedy universe, said he hopes “Stree 2” lives up to all the expectations.

The makers also confirmed that the wait for the third sequel of "Stree" is expected to release in the next three years.

Vijan's horror comedy universe also includes titles like “Bhediya” and “Munjya”.

“Stree 2” also stars Pankaj Tripathi.

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