Bollywood's first post-lockdown offering, 'Roohi,' earns over Rs. 3 crore
What's the story
Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao's Roohi, the first big-ticket Bollywood movie to hit the screens after last year's lockdown, registered a good first day at the box office.
The horror-comedy flick has earned Rs. 3.06 crore on the first day, reports claimed. Domestic multiplexes heavily contributed to the numbers.
The movie tells the story of a ghost who abducts brides on their honeymoons.
'Roohi Afzana'
The movie was originally called 'Roohi Afzana'
Roohi is directed by Hardik Mehta, who famously worked on scripts for movies like Mausam and Lootera. The movie has been produced by Dinesh Vijan.
It was initially eyeing for a March 20, 2020 release with the name Roohi Afzana. The release date was pushed to June, due to the pandemic.
After multiple release date changes and a shortened name, Roohi, finally released yesterday.
Negative reviews
'Roohi' failed to impress the critics
After Stree, the sleeper hit of 2018, expectations were high from Roohi, but the movie failed to deliver.
"Nowhere close to #Stree. Weak screenwriting. Works in bits and spurts, not in entirety, (sic)" trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted yesterday.
Critic Anupama Chopra lauded the movie's climax but said to reach there, viewers have to tolerate a screenplay that "borders on incoherence."
Twitter Post
The cast is good, movie not so much
#OneWordReview...#Roohi: DISAPPOINTING.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 11, 2021
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Nowhere close to #Stree... Weak screenwriting... Works in bits and spurts, not in entirety... Second half + climax lacks impact... #JanhviKapoor very good, #RajkummarRao, #VarunSharma excel. #RoohiReview pic.twitter.com/OGJuGuURUW
Emotions
People are excited and emotional to be back in theaters
The film may not have gotten positive reviews from critics, but it definitely got them excited about movie theaters.
Chopra said she got a little emotional sitting in a theater again while Adarsh seemed happy to return to theaters after a year.
"Finished #Roohi at PVR almost after a year with family. I loved d movie, (sic)" wrote a Twitter user Puneet Sharma.
Twitter Post
Movie critic Anupama Chopra got emotional
Getting a little emotional sitting in a theatre again! #Roohi #NowWatching pic.twitter.com/0xevcpeSGr
— Anupama Chopra (@anupamachopra) March 11, 2021
OTT platforms
When cinema halls shut down, OTT platforms came to rescue
Like all sectors, the year 2020 was difficult for the entertainment industry, as cinema halls remained shut for months.
However, during the trying times, OTT platforms came to the rescue of filmmakers and viewers, who were largely locked inside their homes.
A number of movies, like Dil Bechara, Laxxmi, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, had released directly on streaming giants.