Posted: 3 years ago

taran adarsh


@taran_adarsh


Back to cinemas... Watching a #Hindi film [#Roohi] on the big screen after a year.


Posted: 3 years ago

Meh, this guy always has good things to say about every movie. I don't trust him đŸ˜ĄđŸ˜†

Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by bollyqueen0


Meh, this guy always has good things to say about every movie. I don't trust him đŸ˜ĄđŸ˜†


This post was before he saw the movie .Now he has gone silent .I think he did not like the movie 😆

Posted: 3 years ago

Roohi Review: Best To Lay The Ghost Of Janhvi Kapoor's Horror-Comedy To Rest

Roohi Review: Rajkummar Rao is in parts but as the absurdist plot careens out of control, he looks as lost as the feckless character he is on the screen.

Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Varun Sharma

Director: Hardik Mehta

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

A wild, weird goulash of heavy-handed hinterland hocus-pocus, perplexing pop psychology and dashes of broad humour pressed into the service of a horror-comedy, Roohi, helmed by Hardik Mehta, is a film whose ambitions far outstrip its output. That is not to say that the screenplay is completely devoid of flashes of inspiration but these bright spots are not strong enough to withstand self-indulgent genre excess.

In many ways, Roohi is reminiscent of Stree and not only because both have emerged from the Maddock Films stable and feature Rajkummar Rao as the male lead. The actor trades the tools of a ladies' tailor - that is what he was in Stree - for the camera of a crime reporter working for a nondescript rag called 'Muzirabad Zalzala' and throws in mannerisms borrowed from the characters that he played in Ludo and Bareilly Ki Barfi.

He is definitely funny in parts, but as the absurdist plot careens out of control and turns more and more unwieldy, the actor looks as lost as the feckless character he is on the screen. He is a shivering wreck when confronted with a twist that foxes him out of his wits - the girl he loves isn't as attainable as he thinks she is for she might not be of this world at all.

Rao makes these scenes count for whatever they are worth but the inconsistent script - screenwriters Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra are hard-pressed to give the flighty plot premise a smooth and steady path - lets him down at crucial junctures. An earthy lingo, a wayward diction and an icky demeanour lend his and co-actor Varun Sharma's personas an air of harmless insouciance, one of the more effective elements that Roohi manages to conjure up.

While Stree was about the wandering spirit of a wronged woman who went about kidnapping men at night at a particular time of the year, this one forays more into the mental derangement space without caring to explain what it is exactly that lies behind the anger (or anguish) of a schizophrenic girl who, as we can vaguely surmise, has received the wrong end of the stick from her family and the misogynistic society she is a part of. There is a flashback to a wedding that is marred by blood on the feet.

Janhvi Kapoor has to literally jump out of her skin - or, to be more precise, disappear behind heavy prosthetic layers - to play this woman with a split personality. But it seems it isn't mere variable mental states that she is dealing with. She is also a mudiya pairi, literally a churail whose feet point backwards. She makes her presence felt by whisking away a new bride when the husband dozes off on the wedding night.

Between the grovelling and growling that this troubled damsel does, she pulls two childhood pals, Bhawra Pandey (Rajkummar Rao) and Kattanni Qureshi (Varun Sharma), in different directions. The boys fall in love with her - one with the docile Roohi, the other with her frightening, destructive avatar.

Posted: 3 years ago

Roohi reviewBy SUKANYA VERMAMarch 11, 2021 10:32 IST

Get Rediff News in your Inbox: email

As a self-confessed scaredy-cat, I have to say I was dreadfully exhausted by the end and noting the sloppy visual effects and continuity glitches in Janhvi's ghostly makeup, points out Sukanya Verma.



Small towns, supernatural myths and a silly set of men entangled around a seemingly spooky woman -- Roohi's eagerness to capitalize on Stree's success is as obvious as it is regrettable.

Producer to both, Dinesh Vijan aspires for a horror comedy universe around these keywords but Roohi, previously titled Rooh Afza followed by Roohi Afzana can neither match the wacky vision nor the feministic vigour of Stree.

Opposing patriarchy through chilling heroines is a trending new ploy in films like Stree, Pari and Bulbull. Roohi, too, claims to share their ideas of empowerment but the execution is so wishy-washy, it feels tokenism at its most contrived.

Sponsored

Director Hardik Mehta whose Amdavad Ma Famous and Kaamyab gave us a good glimpse of his canny talent tosses an occasional quirky visual. but his garbled treatment of Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's wafer-thin plot and worn-out formula relies entirely on its its likeable cast to salvage the situation.

Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma play Bhawra Pandey and Kattani Qureshi, gimmicky reporters of a local tabloid Muzirabad Zalzala moonlighting as bride kidnappers for their seedy boss Guniya Shakil (Manav Vij in a nipple baring ganjee is the real horror) assigned to abduct Roohi (Janhvi Kapoor) and detain her in a deep, dark forest.

But when Roohi transpires into more than what they bargained for, all hell breaks loose.

Mandatory town folklore goes -- a chudail figure, feet backwards of course, lurks around wedding sites in hope of finding a bride to possess if ever the groom slips to catch his forty winks.

Roohi isn't as keen to explain its myths or mental make-up as it wants to send Bhawra on a stammering spree or show-off its playlist of retro Bollywood numbers against a smitten Kattani.

More like this

The Married Woman review

The Married Woman review

Zindagi In Short review

Zindagi In Short review

Both fellas respond to the Roohi they see and crush on even as the lady in question alternates between mouse and monster. Freeing one from the other forms the objective of their increasingly confusing and outrageous quest.

A fair bit of its pedestrian humour works on the strength of Rao and Sharma's comic prowess. It's not novel territory for either, but the duo is committed to enjoying the farce for what it is. Janhvi reiterates her compelling presence but doesn't get any meat to chew on.

Though watching talented actors embarrass themselves in scenes that wouldn't seem out of place in a Housefull 5 is a real deal breaker.

Between relentless assault of red herrings and jump scares and mumbo jumbo of temples, healing babas and all-knowing crones, the monotony of boos and exorcism becomes impossible to bear.

As a self-confessed scaredy-cat, I have to say I was dreadfully exhausted by the end and noting the sloppy visual effects and continuity glitches in Janhvi's ghostly makeup.

Returning to the theatre exactly a year later in a post-pandemic world is unnerving enough without having to endure the hopeless horrors of Roohi.

Rediff Rating:

Posted: 3 years ago

Roohi Movie Review

Review by Bollywood Hungama News Network

Updated: March 11, 2021 10:46 IST

2.5

Roohi Movie Rating

It’s been almost a year when theatres were asked to shut down due to rapid rise in the cases of Coronavirus in the country. Two of the films playing in theatres at that point were ANGREZI MEDIUM, produced by Dinesh Vijan, and KAAMYAAB, directed by Hardik Mehta. In an interesting turn of events, ROOHI, the film that releases today and kickstarts the movie-watching season in cinemas, is helmed by both these personalities. So does ROOHI manage to entertain and enthral the audiences? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse.

Movie Review: Roohi

ROOHI is the story of a possessed girl. Bhawra Pandey (Rajkummar Rao) and Kattanni Qureshi (Varun Sharma) work as crime journalists in a small town, Baagadpur. They also specialise in ‘pakdaai shaadi’ aka bride kidnapping, an accepted custom in Baagadpur. One day, their boss, Guniya Shakeel (Manav Vij) orders them to kidnap a girl, Roohi (Janhvi Kapoor), from a nearby town, Mujaribaad. Bhawra and Kattanni manage to kidnap Roohi while she is with her father (Rajesh Jais). As per the ‘pakdaai shaadi’ custom, after the girl is kidnapped, she is straight away taken to the marriage venue. Bhawra and Kattanni are also supposed to follow suit with Roohi. But after the kidnap takes place, Guniya calls them and tells them that the groom’s uncle has passed away suddenly. Hence, the marriage will now take place after a week. Till then, Bhawra and Kattanni are told to keep her as a hostage in an abandoned property in the hills of Ambiyapur. On the first night, Bhawra goes to offer dinner to Roohi only to realize that she is possessed. Kattanni, at first, doesn’t believe but later, even he sees the possessed side of Roohi. However, instead of being frightened, Kattanni falls for the possessed Roohi. Bhawra, on the other hand, is in love with the non-possessed Roohi. He decides to help her and get the witch out of her body. Kattanni however is averse to the idea as loves the possessed Roohi and if Bhawra succeeds, the witch will leave Roohi forever. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's story is interesting and novel. The writers try their best to bring something new to the table. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's screenplay, however, is interesting only in parts. A few scenes are exceptional and bring the house down. But the serious portions don’t make the desired impact. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's dialogues are witty. But the dialect is too authentic and is incomprehensible at many places.

Hardik Mehta's direction is average at best. On the plus side, he handles some scenes with Ă©lan. Also, he sets the mood right, especially in the horror scenes. Even the various towns shown in the film are uniquely depicted. For instance, the bizarre bride kidnapping custom in Baagadpur, the spooky hills of Ambiyapur and the practice of desi exorcism in Chimmatipur add to the film’s novelty. On the flipside, the climax is disappointing. The film also ends on an abrupt note. One hopes that the makers would provide some backstory about Roohi’s past but that never happens. The same route was also followed in STREE [2018], where the mysterious girl’s (Shraddha Kapoor) track ends on a cliffhanger. In the case of ROOHI, it doesn’t make the same impact as STREE. Also, here the goings-on are rather confusing and the dialect is difficult to understand. Several dialogues are sure to go bouncer for many viewers.

LOL- Janhvi on being TROLLED: “Fir to main HINDUSTAN ki sabse POPULAR
”| Roohi

ROOHI starts off on an interesting note, depicting the concept of bride kidnapping in Baagadpur, that too through the eyes of a foreign reporter (Alexx O'Nell). The film gets better once Bhawra and Kattanni kidnap Roohi and set base at the spooky, abandoned factory. The scene where Bhawra narrates about the possessed Roohi to Kattanni is sure to raise laughs. The scene where Kattanni, instead of running away, falls for the possessed Roohi is unique and unexpected. It will bring smiles on the faces of the viewers. The interval comes at an interesting juncture. Post-interval, the film begins to fall but a few scenes especially of the marriage with the dog and Bhawra’s conversation with the old lady (Sarita Joshi) add to the humour and madness. The climax, though unpredictable, is disappointing.

Talking of performances, Rajkummar Rao is in his element as expected. Due to his adorable performance, one doesn’t hate him even though he’s playing a kidnapper in the film. And his comic timing is spot-on, especially in the scenes where he’s running away from the possessed Roohi. Janhvi Kapoor is a big surprise. She hardly has any dialogues but gets her act right with her expressions. And she also is convincing as the witch. Varun Sharma is marvellous and manages to raise laughs. In the last 30 minutes, however, he doesn’t have much to do. Manav Vij suits the part and his performance is fair. Sarita Joshi (credited in the film as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi) is hilarious and one wishes that she had a longer screen time. Alexx O'Nell is lovely. Rajesh H Jais, Anurag Arora (Tantrik), Sumit Gulati (Paras; Roohi’s groom in the end) are okay.

Sachin-Jigar's music is appropriate for the film and it’s theme. 'Kiston' comes suddenly but is soulful. 'Bhootni' is hilarious while 'Panghat' is played in the end credits. 'Nadiyon Paar' is attached with the film’s print before the film starts. It is the best song of the lot and well shot. One wishes if it was a part of the film’s narrative. Ketan Sodha's background score is well woven and also contributes to the horror quotient.

Amalendu Chaudhary's cinematography is spectacular. The various locales in the film are well captured. Ayushi Agarwal and Abhijeet Shresth's production design is quirky and adds to the eerie atmosphere. Theia Tekchandaney's costumes are realistic. Nikita Kapoor's prosthetics are very convincing. Manohar Verma's action is fine while Red Chillies.VFX's VFX is first-rate. Huzefa Lokhandwala's editing is fine and could have been better and crisper in the first half.

On the whole, ROOHI rests on a unique concept, fine performances and some interesting funny and horror sequences. However, the disappointing climax and difficult-to-understand dialect might affect the film’s prospects at the box office.

Related Topics

doc-text Topics pencil Author stackexchange Replies eye Views clock Last Post Reply
Laapataa Ladies - Movie Reviews & BO Discussion (No Spoilers)

pencil Maroonporsche   stackexchange 51   eye 2692

Maroonporsche 51 2692 14 days ago Autumnn
Fighter - Movie Reviews & BO Discussion (No Spoilers)

pencil Maroonporsche   stackexchange 915   eye 42786

Maroonporsche 915 42786 a day ago BBOTT
SHAITAAN - Movie Reviews & BO Discussion

pencil Maroonporsche   stackexchange 113   eye 5673

Maroonporsche 113 5673 a day ago infinity101
Fighter spoiler reviews- out now on Netflix

pencil priya185   stackexchange 153   eye 9367

priya185 153 9367 a day ago Kyahikahoon
Article 370 - Movie Reviews & BO Discussion (No Spoilers)

pencil Maroonporsche   stackexchange 94   eye 5195

Maroonporsche 94 5195 17 days ago Maroonporsche

Topic Info

20 Participants 48 Replies 8676Views

Topic started by Elvis12

Last replied by Elvis12

loader
loader
up-open TOP