Bollywood has a notorious reputation for plagiarism, with numerous instances of copied plots, poster art, and music available through a simple search. The latest controversy involves Amar Kaushik’s ‘Stree 2’, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, which has recently come under scrutiny due to its film poster. Since its release, internet users have noted the striking resemblance between the poster for ‘Stree 2’ and that of the popular series ‘Stranger Things’. As the release of this horror-comedy draws near, anticipation has increased, leading to an online debate over the allegedly copied artwork.

When comparing the two posters side by side, social media users and Redditors have highlighted the similarities in color tonality, with a prominent blue in the lower half and a vivid orange in the upper. Even the placement of the characters and the font are similar. The cast is arranged in a pyramid formation on the poster: Rajkummar Rao at the top, with supporting cast members Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana, and Pankaj Tripathi below him, and Shraddha Kapoor at the center of the bottom row. The makers are now accused of directly lifting the poster from the fantasy series.

On Reddit, one user commented, “This isn’t the first time Bollywood has copied a cover for a popular show or movie.” Another user wrote, “The pinnacle of ‘You can copy my homework. Just don’t make it look too obvious’ type of excuse.” Additionally, on X, several netizens mocked the poster with captions like, “Same Same…But Different. Guts” and “Average Bollywood copying machine.”

#Stree2 is copy of Stranger things.

⭐ Both led by Female actress.
⭐ Both have horror element
⭐ Both female lead have super power.
⭐ Both movies have boy group led by seniors.

Your life is totally ruined #Stree2Review #KhelKhelMein #Vedaa #StragerThings pic.twitter.com/3iV0TnHPXq

— M A A L U ️ (@YourMasalu) August 12, 2024

While the trolling continues, some fans of the franchise have defended it. A few Reddit users argued that ‘Stranger Things’ didn’t create the poster, with comments such as, “That’s marketing for you. Make it look/feel like a bigger hit to entice people to buy it. But also, ST’s posters aren’t original either; they nod to film posters from the 80s.” Others echoed sentiments like, “Dude, one out of three movie posters looks like that now.” Another X user claimed, “It’s just a tribute to the supernatural genre, not necessarily a copy.”

Same Same … But Different

Stranger Things X Stree 2 #StrangerThings5 #StrangerThings #Stree2 #RajkumarRao #ShraddhaKapoor #PankajTripathi pic.twitter.com/AhPVLnwkVy

— Aminul Hoque (@RoccoAminul) August 12, 2024

The highly anticipated horror-comedy is set to release on August 14 and has begun establishing its presence in pre-sales as it competes with ‘Khel Khel Mein’ and ‘Vedaa’, which are also scheduled to release this week. According to industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk, the film has already sold 220,000 tickets in advance bookings, grossing Rs 8.06 crore. ‘Stree 2’ is the sequel to Amar Kaushik’s 2018 blockbuster, written by Raj & DK. The sequel is also backed by Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films and features the original cast reprising their roles, with Tamannaah Bhatia and Varun Dhawan making cameo appearances.