Director Hardik Mehta: Stree paved the way for Roohi



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The trailer for Roohi, starring Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma, was released on Tuesday. The film, which was previously called Rooh Afza and later Roohi Afzana, is a horror comedy directed by Hardik Mehta, who directed Kaamyaab in 2018, and co-wrote Trapped (2016).

Ahead of the Roohi trailer launch, Hardik Mehta told indianexpress.com why it was important for the film crew to release the film in theaters.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation:

Q) Finally the Roohi release date came out, you’ve been saving the movie for so long, what was it like?

The good thing is that for a movie like this, it’s not fast food that you can prepare and serve quickly. So there was an advantage of the lockdown, we were able to edit it and feed it well, it’s a heavy VFX movie so we could use that time to polish it on our end. A lot of times in our Bollywood movies we saw that last minute VFX looks like a cut and paste job, we didn’t want VFX to look like that. So I’m personally very happy that we had time to reflect on the film, most of the time the directors don’t have that opportunity because they shoot and then within 3-4 months the release date is decided.

At the same time, the lockdown also put our patience to the test as the film deserved a theatrical release and we weren’t sure if and when theaters would open. When you watch a trailer like this you understand that in a genre like horror comedy sound design and sound effects have to be experienced in theaters, it cannot be watched at home with children playing or the sound of a pressure cooker. whistle in the kitchen. It is also a community experience to watch a film like this. So, now that things are opening up and we have protocols in place, I think it’s a good time for a movie like ours to come.

Q) Roohi is from the makers of Stree which was mainly a Raj and DK project. Did you make your film with Stree in mind?

At the end of the day, it was still Amar Kaushik’s movie. Of course, the concept and the story was from Raj and DK. Likewise, the concept for Roohi came from Mrigdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Sinha who are the writers for the film, and then they wanted a young director and that’s how I got into the picture. I had to move forward in a way where I mix pulp and horror and create a cinematic experience out of it.

Stree paved the way for us. Stree’s success led to Roohi. If there was no Stree, there probably wouldn’t have been a Roohi.

Q) How was your experience directing a horror comedy like Roohi?

For someone who comes from the Kaamyaab background, having four cities to shoot in, three stars to direct and two producers to support the film, Roohi was a great experience.

Q) How did he direct the three actors – Janhvi Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma?

Janhvi was a pleasant surprise and she will surprise even more with her performance. And getting a sincere actor like Raj is like a director’s dream come true. The comedic timing that he and Varun share in the film is sort of a “ buddy comedy. ” Raj’s character stutters in the movie, he got it so well, the way he’s on set, he makes the director look good. He’s such a phenomenal artist.

Funded by Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films, Roohi is set to hit theaters on March 11.

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