Roohi Movie Review: The film opens to Mixed Reviews
Movie Ratings : 3 Stars
Roohi Movie Review is finally here. Post-COVID restrictions, Roohi is the first big film to get a theatrical release. The last big-ticket film to release on 70mm screen was Irrfan Khan starrer Angerzi Medium. Now, almost after a year, Roohi will bring back the magic of theatres. The star cast of the film left no stone unturned in promoting the film. Finally, the film is in theatres today. Although the film has opened to mixed reviews, talking about the overall performance, the film remains true to its genre and is an entertaining blend of laughs and thrills. For many years, Bollywood hasn’t given the horror-comedy genre a shot. But it seems the genre has caught the attention of filmmakers in recent times. Roohi is a perfect blend of entertainment and thrills.
Set in a small town, Roohi is the story of Bhaura Pandey ( Rajkummar Rao), Katanni Qureshi ( Varun Sharma), Roohi and Afza ( both played by Janhvi Kapoor). The story revolves around the Pakkadi biyah, where the bride is kidnapped for a forceful marriage. Bhaura and Katanni are among the contract of goons, who are known to get such weddings done. What sets the tone of the story when the duo kidnaps the possessed girl and then, Sharma falls in love with her.
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Will Afza scare your Rooh?
Probably yes! Because Janhvi has done a brilliant job as Afza and Roohi. Her voice modulations are so on point, and there are a few moments that will scare you. The film is refreshing in two terms – After a long time, horror-comedy is back on screen and Rajkummar Rao along with Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma is quite refreshing. All of them are in great form and complement each other’s characters. Rajkummar once again plays a small-town guy with coloured hair and a goofy smile. His character will remind you of Stree, and there a few similarities. But Rao has ensured that his character stands out with different mannerism and body language. Varun shines with his great comic timings and witty expressions. When it comes to comedy, we have to say Varun has paved a path for himself. The actor pulls off comic parts with a certain ease, and here again, he has shown his flair for comedy. Talking about Janvhi, be it as Roohi or Afza, she hasn’t missed a beat. The film is beautifully written by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba keeping in mind that the young audience should enjoy it. The one-liners such as Palat, or the Jack dying in the iconic scene of Titanic were smoothly dropped on most occasions to make the audience laugh hard.
Things that could have been better
Kudos to Rajkummar Rao for bringing variety to similar kind of roles, but we definitely got Stree vibes from his character. The film lacks a deeper narrative. There is a mention of characters back story, but very less would stick to your mind. With a few hiccups, Shraddha Kapoor starrer Stree was a sharp feminist comment on the age-old fear of strong and desirous women. On the other hand, wives were addressed as ‘Chudail’ in Roohi. It wasn’t funny at all. When will the mainstream cinema stop label women? What disappoints us more was the climax. The ending seems a tad bit convenient and lacks the punch that one was fed from the beginning. Last but not least, the biggest takeaway from the film is music – The two main track Nadiyon Paar and Panghat play out during the opening and closing credit will get stuck in your mind even after the movie is over.
Today is the first day, the film is getting mixed reviews and the box office collection is still not out. But critics have forecasted a decent opening for Roohi despite the Pandemic.
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