Is 'Stree' based on a true story? Read intriguing details about the legend of 'Nale Ba'

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor's horror-comedy film, Stree was lauded immensely by fans and critics alike for its portrayal of society and its treatment of women. The plot of the story revolves around the fictional town Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh which is haunted by a woman's ghost. In the film, Stree descends upon the town during the four nights of Navratri to prey on men at Night. In order to keep themselves safe, men of the town dress up as women and paint ‘Oh Stree, Kal Aana’ on the walls of their house. As spooky as this may sound, but the story takes inspiration from real-life events. Here is every detail about the truth of Stree’s plot.

Is Stree based on a true story?

According to Quint, Stree’s story is developed from an urban legend from Bangalore during the 1990s. Legend has it that a witch would knock at people’s door every night and if someone happened to have opened their door, the witch would kill them. The witch would speak in the voices of a close friend and family members which became one of the main reasons for people to open their doors.

To shun her away, the town resident went on to write, ‘Nale Ba’ on the walls of their house. When translated to English, ‘Nale Ba’ means ‘come tomorrow’ in Kannada. It is said, that the witch would read the inscription of the walls and turn away only to return again the next night. The spiral would continue perennially. The legend of Nale Ba spread like wildfire in Bengaluru, however, as time passed, the urban legend saw its decline and hence the story of the witch of Nale Ba died.

While talking to Quint, the director of the film said that they have adapted the ‘Nale Ba’ story, however, the creators also considered some phenomena from the north side of the country. According to the director, every part of India has its own phenomena of legend and every state has some superstitious or the other. Director Amar Kaushik stated that Stree is not derived from one place’s incident. Instead, the makers have adapted many legends from vivid parts of India.