| Roohi 2021 Movie Review | |
| Director: | Hardik Mehta |
| Cast: | Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkumar Rao, Varun Sharma |
| Producers: | Dinesh Vijan, Mrigdeep Singh Lamba |
| Release date: | 11 March 2021 |
| IMDB: | 4/10 |
Roohi Plot
The story is set in the town of Bagarpur where there is a long tradition of bribe kidnapping. When two nincompoops Hitesh (Rajkumar Rao) & Lakiresh (Varun Sharma) kidnaps an innocent girl, Roohi (Janhvi Kapoor) the villagers said that the wedding is canceled. Hence they have to stay hidden for at least a week with the girl. Soon the two guys identify Roohi as possessed by a witch. They attempted to take many steps to save her by extracting the spirit from her. But the reason why the witch is so disturbed is that it needs a man to marry her. “Roohi Review”.
Roohi Review
Bollywood really never succeeded in strengthening its horror-genre. That is why very few names come to mind when we think about Hindi horror films. Stree (2019) directed by Hardik Mehta was one of those rare horrors that actually got the love of the audiences. It was authentic in its own way. And with it Hardik planted the foundation of the horror-comedy genre in Bollywood properly. When Roohi (2021) trailer dropped the very same was expected. But somehow back to the old times when horror fails in Bollywood. But the only weapon the director has when a horror can’t work alone is ‘comedy’. This film somehow lacks both. This is definitely an energetic movie yet, it lacks soul.
Just like his previous film the center character is a woman possessed by a ‘chudail’. Although the story is good the execution & the script took it down miserably. With Stree, Mehta had already set a bar for his horror movies to which this project couldn’t rise. I really liked the cast but somehow a good cast can’t save a film if the script is messed up.
Roohi Performance
The only best performance & perhaps the good thing in this film is Rajkumar Rao. No matter how bad a script is or the role he is entrusted with he never fails to give joy to the audiences. It is a very poorly written script where Rajkumar shines & maybe the only reason why anyone would think of watching this film. His comedy expressions are damn perfect especially when he stutters along with his accent. The way he smiles whenever Roohi, with whom he has fallen in love comes in front of him, he simply elates the screen.
The most expected thing about the actor’s performances is Janhvi Kapoor. Although she didn’t have much to act than to screen sometimes with CGI face overlays, she is as horrible as in any film. She doesn’t have any sense of acting let alone expressions. And when you see a witch romancing with a human being, you can’t figure out whom to blame- Janhvi, the director, or the witch itself. She just keeps getting films & knocking terrible performances.
The same goes for Varun Sharma. Not a single film he is in, where he plays a different kind of role which I think he must as he does have potential. He still remains the same “Chucha” we knew in Fukrey (2013) even after 8 years. Just a different name, same character throwing cringe dialogues that are supposed to be a comedy.
Roohi Technical Aspects
First of all the songs that Roohi has don’t go with the story. It feels rather forceful sometimes when the viewers want to see the story. And they must put a stop to making remixes of old songs. Only the song of Jubin Nautilya feels decent in this film.
Secondly the atmosphere & its people. Since Roohi raised the expectation bar because of the success behind Stree (2019), in Stree the world around the characters was built according to the story. The characters had that way of presenting themselves that goes with that background that instilled the element of horror in the story. But in Roohi it feels like no effort was given to create the atmosphere; just a flat story (with cringe comedy) surrounding the three key characters & the problem at hand. The CGI was not bad in this film although seeing the two-eyed which reminds us of the monster in “The Mummy (2017)”.
Roohi Verdict
If you are reading this review or any review otherwise now you know that watching Stree again with your family is a far better choice than spending money on this film. This horror-comedy, although an effort to create a universe of Hardik Mehta, doesn’t work for the most part. It is one of those films that will be forgotten within the next few days after watching it. Hope the next announced project “Bhedia” with lead Varun Dhawan will work to survive in this ‘failed horror’ industry.
