Raftaar Opens: Rajkummar Rao's Start-Up Drama

Raftaar, a Hindi drama about the rise and fall of a start-up, opened in theatres on Oct. 16 after being moved from July. Rajkummar Rao and Keerthy Suresh lead the cast. No reliable first-day figure had been reported by the time our sources were published, and we found no professional review.

The film

IndiaX24, citing Outlook and Plex, says the film is directed by Aditya Nimbalkar, with story and screenplay by Rohan Narula and Tarun Bali as executive producer. Tanya Maniktala, Rajat Kapoor, Anurag Thakur and Rohan Verma are listed in significant roles. It is the first theatrical production of Kampa Film, the banner run by Patralekhaa, and it is presented by Amazon MGM Studios.

The story, as the reports summarise it, centres on a fast-rising start-up and a charged relationship between a driven man and an equally ambitious woman. Money, power and greed create conflict as they experience what the summary calls an intoxicating rise and a devastating fall. The reports we read do not say whether the film is based on real events or on any real company.

The date change

IndiaX24 says the release was moved from July 24 to Oct. 16, a date that falls on the Dussehra weekend, according to Outlook. The reason for the delay is not stated. Outlook, as quoted by IndiaX24, says Rao's statement suggests the filmmakers wanted more time to develop the project, and quotes him as saying the film deserves the time to grow into something truly memorable. That is the actor's remark, and not an official explanation.

The Times of India and The Hindu each ran a report on the new date, according to the search results we saw.

The opening

IndiaX24's comparison of the three Hindi openings on Oct. 16 says Raftaar does not have a reliable figure in the sources it opened. A tracker named Box Office Index listed about Rs 0.01 crore net through the second day, which a search summary calls clearly provisional. We therefore do not give an opening figure. The same IndiaX24 report puts the two other Hindi openings that day at figures that trackers disagree on, and says word of mouth over the weekend will matter more than the first day.

Raftaar also arrived in a crowded week. IndiaX24 describes it as opening alongside Jailer 2 in its second day, Nayyi Navelli and another Rajkummar Rao film, and says Amazon MGM Studios was behind two Hindi releases that weekend. The report adds that Rao had two films in cinemas on the same day, and says it is the outlet's own observation.

The people

Wikipedia describes Keerthy Suresh as an actress who works mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, with a National Film Award for Best Actress for Mahanati, in which she played Savitri. Raftaar is a Hindi film, and the sources describe it as her Hindi theatrical outing, though we did not confirm whether it is her first.

Why it matters

A Hindi film built around India's start-up boom is a topical subject. IndiaX24 ties it to Inc42 data that Indian start-ups raised 2.2 billion dollars in the third quarter across 210 deals, but says the film is not about a real company as far as the reports indicate. The tie to the funding data is the outlet's framing, not the film's.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm an opening-day or weekend figure from any reliable source. We could not find a professional review, and the ratings on listing sites appear unverified. We could not confirm the film's runtime or budget, which the reports we read do not give. We could not confirm that this is Keerthy Suresh's first Hindi theatrical release. We have not seen the film.

Sources

*Cover photo: Strivedi1, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rajkummar-_Rao-_Actor.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rajkummar-_Rao-_Actor.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*