Shraddha Kapoor, who starred in one of the biggest Hindi movies of the year, Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank (Woman 2: Terror of the Headless), stopped by the Deadline studio at the Red Sea Film Festival this week to discuss the horror comedy’s success and the influence of growing up in a famous family.
A sequel to the 2018 original, Stree 2 released during the Independence Day corridor this past August, and went on to gross $100M worldwide.
In the video above, Kapoor says the first film helped “pave the way for other filmmakers to dabble in horror comedy” and notes that the post-pandemic return to moviegoing is “encouraging for Indian cinema in itself — be it Hindi movies, be it South films — it’s a really encouraging time.”
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Kapoor, who has been working steadily since 2010, had a natural affinity to acting, she explained, having been surrounded by a creative family. Kapoor’s father is Shakti Kapoor, an actor who has appeared in some 700 films. Her brother and aunts are all also well-known in the business.
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The actress said it was “amazing to grow up in this environment,” but allowed that her father, because he did not come from an entertainment background and had to start from scratch, “made sure that I didn’t have it easy. He made sure that the opportunities I got was through hard work.”
Kapoor discusses projects she’s considering with her family, she said. “There’s definitely a bouncing of ideas… There’s a lot of conversation naturally happening at home, and more than deciding which film to do — because that’s something my father has always said I should decide myself — it’s actually the work ethic that I speak to him about and that he inspires me to try and embody because he’s someone who has kept his head down and worked very sincerely in the industry.”
As for upcoming projects, Kapoor said she is finalizing her next couple of films, with plans to start shooting in 2025.
Check out the full conversation with Shraddha Kapoor in the video above.