Mr. & Mrs. Mahi is a 2024 Hindi-language romantic sports drama film directed by Sharan Sharma and produced by Zee Studios and Dharma Productions. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor. The film is centered around cricket and both lead actors share the same nickname as the famous Indian cricketer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The film was released on 31 May 2024 to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry of the leads and the film's novel concept but criticised the screenplay and plot. The film turned out to be profitable venture.
Plot
The virtue of an arranged marriage brings together Mahendra, a failed cricketer, and Mahima, a doctor living in Jaipur. Having the same nickname, Mahi, they together become Mr. and Mrs. Mahi, akin to the nickname of Dhoni. They soon discover their common love and passion for cricket. Mahendra, a failed cricketer who couldn't make it; spots cricketing talent in his wife when he sees her smashing tennis ball sixes and encourages her to chase her dream of becoming a cricketer. During this journey, Mahendra feels let down as his goal to showcase himself as coach rather than his wife as a cricketer, fails. These internal conflict lead to tension between the couple. His mother(Geetha) neutralizes it by sharing her life's experiences. She prods him by saying it's the happiness within yourself and for others that will make you feel successful. This makes Mahi to realize his mistake and make fresh efforts to help his wife. Buoyed by the encouragement she receives from her husband Mahi; a practicing doctor eventually gives up her career as a doctor and takes a strike on her cricketing journey, which is reflected in the tagline An Imperfectly Perfect Partnership.
Development
The film was announced on 22 November 2021 by Karan Johar, starring Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor.
Filming
Principal photography was commenced on 9 May 2022 and film was shot at various locations in Jaipur. Filming wrapped on 1 May 2023. During filming, Kapoor dislocated her shoulder twice.
Soundtrack
The music for the film is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra, Jaani, Hunny-Bunny, Achint-Yuva and Dhruv Dhalla. Lyrics are written by Jaani, Kausar Munir, Vishal Mishra, Azeem Dayani, Sagar, Arushi Kaushal and Devendra Kafir.
The song "Dekhha Tenu" is inspired by the song "Say Shava Shava" from producer Karan Johar's 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham sung by Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Udit Narayan, Sudesh Bhonsle, Aadesh Shrivastava, Amitabh Bachchan, composed by Aadesh Shrivastava and written by Sameer Anjaan.
Theatrical
The film was initially announced to release on 7 October 2022 but the production was deferred. Later it was planned to release on 15 March 2024 and then 19 April 2024, but was again postponed. The film was eventually released theatrically on 31 May 2024.
Box office
Mr. & Mrs. Mahi surpassed Fighter to achieve the highest record for advance ticket sales for a Hindi film in 2024 at ₹ 2.5 lakh as the film benefitted from the subsidised prices on Cinema Lovers Day. The film grossed ₹6.85 crore on its opening day, the seventh-highest for a Hindi film in 2024. As of July 2024 the film has grossed ₹43.19 crore in India and ₹8.77 crore internationally, for a total worldwide gross of ₹51.96 crore.
