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Roohi (2021 film)

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Roohi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHardik Mehta
Written by
  • Mrighdeep Singh Lamba
  • Gautam Mehra
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAmalendu Chaudhary
Edited byHuzefa Lokhandwala
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byJio Studios
Release date
  • 11 March 2021 (2021-03-11)[1]
Running time
134 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹35 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹30.33 crore[3]

Roohi is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language comedy horror film directed by Hardik Mehta and produced by Dinesh Vijan under the banner Maddock Films. It tells the story of a ghost who abducts brides on their honeymoons. The film stars Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma.

It was announced on 29 March 2019 and filming kicked off on 14 June 2019 in Agra. The film was set to release in June 2020,[4] but the COVID-19 pandemic in India interrupted production.[5] Roohi was theatrically released in India on 11 March 2021.[1] The film received negative reviews and was affected by post-COVID business conditions, earning about ₹30 crore at the box office against a production budget of ₹35 crore.[6][7]

Plot

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Bhawra Pandey and Kattanni Qureshi are from Bagadpur village, where it is customary for the girl to be abducted by the man who desires to marry her. They are tasked by their boss and kidnapping-gang leader Guniya Bhai to kidnap Roohi as part of a contract by a guy who wishes to marry her. However, a death in the family of the groom forces them to keep her in hiding in an abandoned woodwork shop so that the marriage can take place after the funeral. During their stay, Bhawra realises that Roohi is actually possessed by a demonic spirit, which is corroborated by her father. Roohi was actually supposed to be married a year ago, but the groom and his family fled after seeing she is possessed.

Bhawra falls for Roohi and tries to coax the spirit from her body; Kattanni, on the other hand, is smitten by the demonic spirit, who identifies herself as Afza, and tries to bring her forward instead of Roohi so that he can talk to her. They learn that the demon is a Mudiyapairi (a witch with backward-turned feet who is deemed to be extremely strong) and she will not leave unless she gets married along with the girl she is possessing. Guniya Bhai, fearing the police investigation behind Roohi's kidnapping, instructs them to abandon her, but they refuse, forcing him to send his henchmen to get the job done. The henchmen, while trying to assault Kattanni, get gravely injured by Afza, and report this to Guniya Bhai.

Bhawra finds out from an old woman that the 'Mudiyapairi' has to be tricked into marrying a man who is already married, which makes her the mistress and forces her to leave the body she is possessing. The old woman had been possessed before by the same witch, and had exorcised the spirit, but not before the enraged spirit killed her supposed husband. The henchmen were attacked by Afza (one is murdered and the other injured), so Bhawra, Roohi, and Kattanni leave for a village called Chimmattipur, where Bhawra marries a dog to trick the witch. However, the villagers chastise him for bringing a witch into their sacred village. Guniya Bhai arrives to take revenge but realizes that Afza has to get married in less than a day. Eager to rebuild his reputation, Guniya Bhai tells Afza she can marry the guy who had given the contract to abduct Roohi.

Bhawra and Kattanni arrive at the wedding; Kattanni, decked in Bhawra's wedding attire, convinces Afza to marry him. They are interrupted by the old lady, who tells Afza the marriage is a fraud, and deceives her into believing by showing her the video of the dog wedding. She gets confused seeing Bhawra in the groom's attire and mistaking him to be Kattanni. An enraged Afza commands Bhawra to marry him but is stopped by Roohi. Roohi then decides to marry Afza herself, thereby embracing the strength Afza had given her rather than treat her as an enemy.

Roohi and Afza accept each other and leave Bhawra and Kattanni behind. When the police arrive with Roohi's father, they are told by the old woman that Roohi has run away with herself, but the old woman disappears, indicating that she might have been helping Afza all along as she herself had married “Mudiyapairi” in the past.

Cast

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Music

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Roohi
Soundtrack album by
Sachin–Jigar
Released5 March 2021[8]
Recorded2019–20
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length13:17
LanguageHindi
LabelSony Music India
Sachin–Jigar chronology
Shakuntala Devi
(2020) 		Roohi
(2021)

The film's music was composed by Sachin–Jigar while lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, IP Singh and Jigar Saraiya.

The third song Nadiyon Paar (Let the Music Play Again) is remake version of the famous 2004 Shamur party song Let The Music Play.[9][10][11]

Tracks
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Panghat"Asees Kaur, Divya Kumar, Sachin–Jigar
Rap: Mellow D		2:59
2."Kiston"Jubin Nautiyal, Sachin-Jigar2:41
3."Nadiyon Paar (Let the Music Play Again)" (Lyrics by IP Singh, Jigar Saraiya)Shamur, Rashmeet Kaur, IP Singh, Sachin-Jigar2:44
4."Bhootni"Mika Singh2:27
5."Bhauji"Divya Kumar2:26
Total length:13:17

Release

[edit]

The film was initially planned for release on 20 March 2020 but the makers later announced 17 April as new release date. However, it was further pushed to 5 June on 17 February.[12]

On 15 February 2021, the title of the film was changed to Roohi from Roohi Afzana and it was released in India on 11 March 2021.[1]

Reception

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Critical response

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Roohi received generally negative reviews from critics.[13] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 10% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10.[14]

The Times of India gave it a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 and said ,''Roohi is an entertaining blend of laughs and thrills".[15] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times described Roohi as a "convoluted film". She praised Rao and Sharma's equation in the movie but criticised Kapoor by calling her performance average.[16] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 2/5 and stated that the film "seeks to subvert genre conventions and venture into the terrain of feminist rebellion".[17] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll stated that "Roohi is a Horror-comedy movie which has some spirit but no soul".[18] Rohit Vats of CNN-IBN wrote, "Written by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra, Roohi is totally about spontaneity and a solid beginning; Though both Rao and Sharma are in their favourite zone, but their back and forth and punchlines evoke laughs".[19]

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave Roohi a rating of 1/5 and called it a "plain horrible" movie. She further stated, "Roohi is missing a coherent plot and writing. All we get is one cringe-inducing sequence after the next".[20] Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh rated the film 2/5 and called it 'Disappointing'. further he said "Nowhere close to Stree, Weak screenwriting, Works in bits and spurts, not in entirety, Second half + climax lacks impact. But he praised Performances of lead cast.[21] Anupama Chopra of Film Companion wrote, "The film wants to juggle many balls – horror, comedy, feminist messaging, a love triangle, a bromance – but ends up dropping almost all of them".[22]

Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 1.5/5 and wrote, "Roohi is horror comedy that’s dead on arrival despite sporadic humour, feminist aspirations". She praised Rao and Sharma for their comic timing but criticised the writers, the overall plot of the film and Kapoor's performance by stating, "They could have cast any other actor in her place and it would not have made an inch of a difference to the film." she further stated, "Nothing better indicates Roohi’s lack of commitment to its feminist goals than the irrelevance of its female star".[23] Namrata Joshi of National Herald compared Roohi with Stree and stated, "While Stree, despite the fluff and inconsistencies, was eminently watchable, Roohi is unbearable to the core. There are absolutely no jump-from-the-seat moments, no chills-down-the-spine eeriness to justify the “horror” side of it. As far as comedy is concerned, there are barely any worthy gags and irreverent lines, only lame slapstick and jokes that fall flat".[24] Roktim Rajpal from the Deccan Herald called Roohi a "Big Disappointment". He praised Rao and Sharma's performance but criticised Kapoor and stated that Kapoor failed to make an impact.[25] Sushri Sahu of Mashable India praised Rao and Sharma but criticised Kapoor and the direction of the movie by stating, "Kapoor is simply unwatchable with a flat performance without any sound direction by Hardik Mehta."[26]

Box office

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Roohi grossed ₹3.06 crore on its opening day and ₹16.41 crore in its first week.[27][28] The film was made on a production budget of ₹35 crore, and during its theatrical run, it grossed ₹30.33 crore at the worldwide box office.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Sharma's horror-comedy renamed Roohi, film to release on March 11 in theatres". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Farooqui, Maryam (21 March 2021). "COVID-19 impact: If Rajkumar Rao's Roohi succeeds, it will be Bollywood's first hit after a year". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Roohi Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Janhvi Kapoor a sincere and hardworking actor: Rajkummar Rao on Rooh-Afza co-star". The New Indian Express. 14 July 2019. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  5. ^ Dubey, Rachana. "Varun Sharma: It took me a while to get used to staying home, doing nothing". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Roohi movie review and release LIVE UPDATES: Janhvi, Rajkummar Rao film fails to impress". The Indian Express. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Best and worst Hindi films of 2021 so far: Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, Radhe on the list". The Indian Express. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Roohi – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Janhvi Kapoor calls for encore". Mid Day. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  10. ^ "'Roohi' new song 'Nadiyon Paar': Janhvi Kapoor impresses with her amazing dance moves in this latest track". The Times of India. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Janhvi Kapoor's smouldering dance in Nadiyon Paar song from Roohi is too hot to handle!". Zee News. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  12. ^ "New release date... #RoohiAfzana – starring #RajkummarRao, #JanhviKapoor and #VarunSharma – to release on 5 June 2020... Directed by Hardik Mehta... Produced by Dinesh Vijan and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba... Jio Studios presentation". Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2020 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "'Roohi' 4 days box office collection report: Rajkummar Rao-starrer has a good first weekend". Deccan Herald. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Roohi". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Roohi Movie Review: An entertaining blend of laughs and thrills". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Roohi movie review: Rajkummar Rao-Varun Sharma's equation stands out in convoluted film, Janhvi Kapoor is average". Hindustan Times. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  17. ^ Saibal Chatterjee (11 March 2021). "Roohi Review: Best To Lay The Ghost Of Janhvi Kapoor's Horror-Comedy To Rest". NDTV. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  18. ^ "'Roohi' movie review: Horror-comedy has some spirit but no soul". Scroll.in. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Roohi Movie Review: Laughter Guaranteed In This Small Town Ghost Story". News18. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Roohi movie review: Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor's horror-comedy is plain horrible". The Indian Express. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  21. ^ Taran Adarsh [@taran_adarsh] (11 March 2021). "#OneWordReview... #Roohi: DISAPPOINTING. Rating: ⭐⭐ Nowhere close to #Stree... Weak screenwriting..." (Tweet). Retrieved 15 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Roohi Has A Screenplay That Borders On Incoherence". Film Companion. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Roohi movie review: A horror comedy that's dead on arrival despite sporadic humour, feminist aspirations". Firstpost. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  24. ^ "'Roohi': Possessed by inanity". National Herald. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  25. ^ "'Roohi' movie review: Rajkummar Rao-starrer is a big disappointment". Deccan Herald. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  26. ^ "'Roohi' Review: The Most Acting You're Going To Get From Janhvi Kapoor Is The 'Nadiyon Paar' Song". Mashable. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Roohi box office week 1: Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao film earns ₹16.41 crore". Hindustan Times. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Roohi day 1 box office collection: Film gets best post-covid opening". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
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