RACKING UP THE WINS

Shraddha Kapoor has helped deliver the highest-earning Hindi film of 2024.

- ANKUR PATHAK

SHRADDHA KAPOOR IS in a euphoric state, and who can blame her? Her latest film, Stree 2, is now the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, an achievement no one expected. Success like that is extremely rare, and she’s aware that it’s probably going to take a very long time—if at all—for this feat to be surpassed.

“I knew that Dinoo (producer Dinesh Vijan) would leave no stone unturned to give this film the treatment it deserves. After the first part was released, he called to ask about my thoughts on a sequel.” Kapoor and Vijan bounced around a few ideas, but both of them agreed that they would wait for as long as it took to find the right story. In other words, they wouldn’t rush to encash on the success of the first part. “Otherwise, we’d have released something within a couple of years after Stree’s release,” she says, pausing to look through her medicine kit. Like many people in Mumbai at the moment, Kapoor is nursing a sore throat. Popping pills and cautiously sipping on hot water.