Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's Stree had undercurrents of feminism, Amar Kaushik says his upcoming offering too has an important message laced with a lot of laughs
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 2, 2019)

"How much can you laugh at your own jokes? But when we watched the film yesterday, we laughed all over again," chuckles director Amar Kaushik, whose second film — the Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam starrer Bala — is barely a week away from release. The filmmaker hit the bull's eye with Stree last year. While the Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor-led horror comedy had undercurrents of feminism, Kaushik says his upcoming offering too has an important message laced with a lot of laughs.

"Bala is a film about loving oneself. It's about how people handle their flaws. Dinesh [Vijan, producer], Ayushmann and I brainstormed over the concept and saw potential in the project. It's about people grappling with their insecurities, and is not restricted to a man who is facing hair loss. I have woven my insecurities into the story too."

The success of Stree last year had sparked talk of a possible sequel. A year since, rumours suggest that the project has hit a roadblock after the alleged fallout between producer Dinesh Vijan, and filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK apparently over the film's profit sharing.

Quiz him on the sequel, and Kaushik says, "We shot the ending in a certain way because we had a vision ahead. The right script is in the works. For me, Raj and DK are as important as Dinesh. Whatever be their differences, they will eventually be resolved. Stree 2 is destined to be. It will happen when it has to."