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Bollywood actors Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma’s horror-comedy film ‘Roohi’, which received mixed responses, has minted Rs 3.06 crores on its opening day.
Helmed by Hardik Mehta, the movie, which hit the theatres on Thursday, is the first major Bollywood release post the COVID-19 lockdown. With the COVID cases witnessing an uptick and several restrictions put in place, it is safe to say that the film has done decent business on its first day.
Exhibitors, who seem to be thrilled, have applauded the Hardik Mehta directorial for making the much-needed first move to release on the big screen.
Speaking about the film’s wide appeal, Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Limited said, “Roohi has boosted the confidence of the exhibition industry and also reposed the faith of audiences to provide them wholesome entertainment in the safe and secure environment of cinemas. Roohi is receiving good feedback from movie patrons across geographic locations and it is encouraging to see such excellent footfalls.”
Saurabh Verma of Inox said, “The response of Roohi is better than even what we had expected. We can only hear laughter in our auditoriums. It is the perfect post-pandemic stress relief film.”
Vishek Chauhan of Rupbani cinema added, “Audiences are loving the film and people are turning up in good numbers. Footfalls are going up with every show.”
The city of joy loves the movie too, as Satadeep Saha from SSR Cinemas, Kolkata shared, “Roohi has started well and the families are finally coming back to theatres for it! People are enjoying the songs which are a major highlight of this movie; the sound effects are also brilliant.”
Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi echoed similar thoughts, saying, “A 3 crore plus start is as good as a 9-10 crore start in a regular environment. Considering the current scenario, the footfalls are very encouraging. We have seen a 200% jump from the morning to evening shows. Since the reopening of theatres, Roohi is possibly the first Hindi film that is drawing people to cinemas in large numbers.”
On such promising signs, Priyanka Chaudhary, CFO, Jio Studios said, “We have always backed content-driven films and Roohi with a 2200+ screen release was just perfect to bring back the magic of cinemas. We are so delighted that audiences all over India are responding with so much love and positivity. This is a big milestone for the film industry and Jio Studios is proud to be a change-maker.”
‘Roohi’ which was previously called ‘Rooh Afza’ and then ‘Roohi Afzana’, was initially slated to hit the theatres in the first week of June, last year. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the makers had to postpone the release date.
A Jio Studios Presentation, ‘Roohi’ is produced by Dinesh Vijan and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. The film marks the first-ever collaboration of Rajkummar and Janhvi. Rajkummar and Varun have earlier shared screen space in the 2015 release ‘Dolly Ki Doli’.
The horror-comedy also become the first film to arrive in theatres after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting allowed cinema halls nationwide to operate at full capacity from February 1 with COVID-19 safety protocols put in place.
The film is based on the lines of the 2018 hit film ‘Stree’, which featured Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao in lead roles.
