Is Shraddha getting a raw deal?

Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree 2 has become the biggest grosser of 2024, making ₹ 135 crores on its opening weekend. But the ‘stree’ in question, in this case, Shraddha Kapoor, who plays the titular character of Stree, has been sidelined, with co-star Rajkummar Rao’s Bicky walking with the accolades.

With critics and audiences lauding Rajkummar’s hattrick of hits this year, following Mr and Mrs Mahi and Srikanth, many say it’s unfair how the heroine has been completely ignored. “The movie is called Stree, which means woman, but the female lead has been completely sidelined. This once again echoes the patriarchal mindset of the industry. We can’t see our women winning,” says a netizen.

She keeps a low profile

Many in the industry feel Shraddha, unlike her female counterparts in the industry, keeps a very low profile. She isn’t visible all over social media day in and out like the other actors. She has the largest social media presence in Bollywood. With 92 million followers she is away head of Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and even Shahrukh Khan.

“Shraddha is your typical girl next door. She is measured with her responses, neither is she sighted at parties or posting a digital diary of her many looks, and days like the others. She’s not out there in the news,” says a publicist. Soon after her 2010 debut in Teen Patti, the 2011 sting operation against her father Shakti Kapoor went against her. “The controversy around her father, and the scandal did impact the family. Shraddha is the biggest success story in the family,” said the publicist.

Is like an outsider in the industry

The actor tasted success with Aashiqui 2 in 2013, followed by Ek Villian and yet she herself confessed never having felt like part of the industry. “I feel like an outsider who has had a very regular way of getting into the industry, I have auditioned like anyone else. I have given so many auditions just like anyone else to bag films. That’s how it’s been for me, and I guess that’s my biggest strength as well. Many people ask me, being from a film family, I don’t seem like one, neither do I get films with only certain banners. My journey has been unconventional.”