Despite negative reviews, Varun Dhawan's Coolie No 1 creates viewership record on Amazon Prime

Varun Dhawan's 'Coolie No. 1' has smashed more viewership records than any other film on Amazon Prime, India in its opening weekend. The David Dhawan directorial was watched in more than 3700 cities and towns in India and in over 165 (and counting)  countries within just 72 hours of its release. It was also the most-searched Amazon Prime Video title on the internet in 2020, a representative from the streaming service said. Varun, who played the titular Coolie in the film, said in a statement, “The experience of recreating a classic film that I grew up watching has been surreal, and it is humbling to receive so much love and appreciation from viewers. In a year like 2020, we wanted to bring smiles to the audiences’ faces with a story that would entertain the entire family.”

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Jackky Bhagnani, who produced Coolie No 1 under the banner Pooja Entertainment, said, “This is the dawn of a new era for Indian entertainment. The release of this film has cut across boundaries, and we are happy that viewers across the world are streaming it.”Coolie No 1 is a reboot of the 1995 film of the same name, which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor in the lead roles. Varun plays a coolie who poses as an ultra-rich heir who cons the daughter of a hotel owner (played by Sara) to marry her.Upon release, the movie garnered  unfavourable reviews from viewers. On IMDb, which allows audiences to rate a film, the David Dhawan film had a dismal rating of 1.4. For a better context, it’s even worse than films such as Race 3 (1.9) and Himmatwala (1.7). The film largely received negative reviews from critics as well.