The makers of Bollywood horror comedy ‘Roohi’ have bucked the trend of releasing their new film directly to an streaming platform and will roll it out in a big way in cinemas on March 11 worldwide. It’s only recently that cinemas in India have finally gotten the green signal to operate at 100 per cent capacity amid the pandemic.
Directed by Hardik Mehta, the movie — from the makers of the hit 2018 horror comedy ‘Stree’ — stars Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Choocha Sharma. It will release in more than 1,500 screens across India. The trailer of ‘Roohi’ will be unveiled on February 16.
The decision to release the star-studded film in a traditional manner — in which a film premieres in a cinema before it makes its way to an OTT (Over-The-Top) platform a few weeks after its theatrical release — has been hailed by a section of industry insiders including theatre owners and distributors in India.
Producer Dinesh Vijan from Maddock Films claims ‘Roohi’ as a film that was tailor-made for a theatrical release.
“At Maddock, we are all storytellers driven by our love for cinema in all its vibrant forms. While ‘Stree’ was a genre-bending tale that gave audiences something never seen before, ‘Roohi’ takes this vision a step further by offering the same brand of spine chilling scares and quirky comedy. With a partner like Jio Studios that shares our passion for the eponymous “bada parda” [big screens], we hope ‘Roohi’ rekindles the audience’s long standing romance with the silver screen,” said Vijan in a statement.
