Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) stars Kartik Aryan as Ruhaan Randhawa/Rooh Baba, who, due to circumstances, pretends to be a person who can communicate with the dead. In Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Rooh Baba has become a full-fledged thug, along with his dwarf partner Arun Kushwaha. Meera (Trupti Dimri) and her uncle (Rajesh Sharma) approach him to pretend to perform an exorcism. Meera hails from a poverty-stricken royal family of Bengal, who are desperate to sell their palace. However, the rumor that it is haunted by a female ghost named Manjulika has kept buyers away. Therefore, false exorcism will help them a lot. Ruhaan agrees to do this for a fee of one crore. On reaching the palace, he found a portrait of himself in royal attire hanging on the wall. Everyone is convinced that he is the reincarnation of a long-dead prince and can actually exorcise the ghost. Meanwhile, a curator (Vidya Balan) arrives to restore the palace but starts behaving mysteriously. There is also another group of thugs: the elder Pandit (Sanjay Mishra), his wife Panditaine (Ashwini Kalsekar), and the younger Pandit (Rajpal Yadav), who are already present with their own agenda. Things change when a potential buyer (Madhuri Dixit) comes forward, who also seems to be a mysterious person. Do ghosts exist, and if so, has Manjulika really escaped her captivity?
Anees Bazmee has served the audience horror comedy with a touch of mystery. The audience must find out who the real Manjulika is, and believe us when we say that the mystery remains till the end. There are a lot of red herrings, sending the audience down many rabbit holes. Small revelations that happen regularly keep you guessing. Some are visions, some are deceitful tricks, and some are straight up horror. Comedic elements dominate the film, with the hand-to-mouth nature of the royals lending to many comedic moments, chief among them being a cow being milked because she is too thin – you get the picture. Vijay Raaz as the poor head of the family and Rajesh Sharma as his street-smart brother are very good. The scenes involving the Pandit family have been laced with slapstick and are sure to find their audience. There is also a romantic subplot between Meera and Ruhaan, which is arguably the weakest addition to the film, as these romantic interludes, especially the songs, spoil the runtime. They could have easily been removed, as there is no romance built into the plot. Perhaps the director thought it wise to include something for everyone in the film.
The dance between Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan on the famous Ami Je Tomar track was promoted as the highlight of the film, and it lived up to the expectation. It is wonderful to see two actresses of similar caliber together in a film. We wish there were more scenes with him. Bazmee has cleverly managed their entry and exit to maintain the mystery. Both Vidya and Madhuri are excellent actresses and are clearly enjoying their roles in this horror comedy. Each of them has a scary side and they make the most of it. The computerized de-aging effects applied to them are subtle and do not diminish their glow in the slightest.
Tripti Dimri is a natural in front of the camera. She adds excitement to the film by being comfortable with her written role. She was fantastic in Bulbul and we were expecting a more classy role for her on the same lines, but that’s not the case here. Kartik Aaryan is also enjoying it, he has understood that he should not take himself too seriously as an actor in horror comedies. He goes with the flow, his reaction shots on various jump scares and scary incidents are spot on. His comic timing is fluid and he holds his own in the scenes with Vidya and Madhuri. We wanted more scenes of him deceiving people as Rooh Baba; Maybe that’s a different film in itself.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 advocates inclusivity and acceptance, which adds an emotional edge to the proceedings. The film is largely based on comedy and thankfully there is no toilet or cheesy humor in it. This is a horror comedy that you can watch with your family. Director Anees Bazmee has mixed many genres to serve us a mix of different tastes. The makers have taken a risk by releasing it with Singham Again; Both the films will cut into each other’s business. Only time will tell who will perform better.