Box office Dhumketu crossed over crore on its opening day, which is the highest first day box office for an Indian Bengali film. It crossed on the second day and became the fastest Bengali film to enter the club in Bengali cinema. It crossed crore at the end of four days and became the fastest Bengali film to enter into the crore club in Bengali cinema. It crossed over crore at the end of eight days.
Critical reception Agnivo Niyogi of
The Telegraph reviewed the film and wrote "Despite its long delay, the film retains a freshness in look and feel, aided by its scenic locations, crisp editing and organic performances. While there are nuanced takes on themes of patriotism and insurgency, the focus largely remains on human relationships." He praised Kaushik Ganguly's screenplay, Dev's performance, Rudranil's performance and chemistry with Dev, an unforced sense of nostalgia and the emotional music but bemoaned the prosthetics, excessive background score and the always not necessary presence of songs. Sampali Moulik of
Sangbad Pratidin reviewed the film and highlighted "Watching the film instills a sense of nostalgia in your mind, which makes you feel - Life can rewrite the meolody of old love." She praised the cinematography, screenplay, Dev's dialogues and performance, Rudranil's acting, the nostalgic chemistry between Dev-Subhashree and the songs but bemoaned the occasional mask like appearance of the prosthetic. Kasturi Kundu of
The Indian Express reviewed the film opined "Dhumketu is a strange nostalgic juxtaposition of love, separation and friendship." She praised the nostalgia evoking portrayal and performance of Dev, his chemistry with Subhasree, the bromance between Dev and Rudranil and the short cameo of Chiranjeet Chakraborty. Shatakshi Ganguly of
IWMBuzz rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and noted "
Dhumketu doesn’t hustle to engrave or dazzle. It moves at its own muted pace, darting on time lost and the convoluted pull of coming back." She praised the cinematography, Dev's performance and natural body language in his old age role, his chemistry with Subhashree and Rudranil, and Anupam's music but bemoaned the storytelling for not being very smooth between the present and past flashbacks. Arshi of
Filmydrip reviewed the film and wrote "The story has been represented very well due to which you will feel complete connectivity with all the characters and along with that when the pair of Dev and Subhashree comes in front, the audience becomes completely crazy about the film. A good story, along with that a pair liked by the audience and then the good work of the makers, the best film has been made which is successful in casting its magic on the audience." Poorna Banerjee of
The Times of India rated the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote "
Dhumketu is a rewarding cinematic experience for those who appreciate character-driven storytelling set in evocative landscapes. Despite its imperfections, it leaves a lasting impression." She applauded the cinematography, the camaderie between Dev and Rudranil and Dev-Subhashree's palpable chemistry but bemoaned the uneven script. Avik of
The Watchlist Diaries rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and quoted "The film flips between past and present a lot of times in the first half. But in the second half, this flip becomes less and the pace drops, which may bore you. There’s a dream sequence featuring an avalanche, it’s shot so beautifully that it will be hard to believe that it’s from a 10-year-old movie." He further appreciated Dev and Rudranil's method acting in their respective styles. Susmita Dey of
Ei Samay reviewed the film on a positive note, quoting "Kaushik Ganguly wisely didn't treat the story as a political thriller set in the context of
Northeast India and
North Bengal in the shadow of films like
Dil Se (1998). Rather, if it had belonged to the genre, the absence of this ideological construction process would've undoubtedly left a big gap". == Future ==