Roohi Review: An Inferior Comeback for Bollywood!

Directed by Hardik Mehta, Roohi, the 2021 Hindi-language movie stars Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor, and Varun Sharma in the primary roles and is yet another hunt for success for Maddock Films, which reaped the benefits of the comedy-horror genre through Stree in 2018.

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Set in a small rural town, the story of Roohi revolves around two crime reporters, Bhawra (Rajkummar Rao) and Kattanni (Varun Sharma), who enjoy being a part of the bride-kidnapping tradition of the village in their leisure time. Subsequently, during one of their abduction escapades, they come across Roohi (Janhvi Kapoor), who suffers from a not-so-normal split personality problem through which she instantly alters from a normal innocent-looking girl to an unforgiving ghost.

Let’s start with the positives. The comedic side of Roohi is enjoyable, if I’m being honest. I walked into this film with zero expectations, without even watching a single trailer (a tradition that I follow), and I found myself giggling to quite a few bits alongside my fellow patrons in the auditorium.

The performances by Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma made the humor even better as the chemistry between them worked, especially the accent and their incredibly funny way of speaking in English. And if you’re able to appreciate the comedy for what it is, I’m sure you’ll be able to get through the first half of this film.

But, by trying too much to replicate the success of Stree, every other facet which makes a movie complete went missing in Roohi. The story doesn’t have a through-line and tries to juggle too many balls at once. And as a result, the second half of the film is a complete mess.

Comedy, the only thing which kept me going in the first half, takes a back seat, and the comedic moments between the lead trio began to get very repetitive and downright unwatchable. Consequently, as expected, everything on-screen starts to feel too long and too random, and I’m sure you’ll be very eager to find that exit door or the exit button if in case you choose to stream the movie once it debuts on Netflix.

Additionally, the climax rather makes you feel more delighted, knowing that the film will be over soon. And the horror elements are laughable to every extent (maybe that’s their intent all along). Also, Janhvi Kapoor, who had to go through a decent amount of prosthetic make-up, impresses and is watchable in a role that had nothing much to offer.

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Overall, Roohi might entertain a fewer section of the audience, who are just in for the ridiculous goofs and laughs. But, credit where credit’s due, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma did a ton of heavy lifting when it comes to making the comedy work. Apart from that, this movie is forgettable and is a disappointment, especially when Bollywood pushed this as the major comeback title, post lockdown era.

Rating – 2/5 | Grade – C

Images via Maddock Films