What is the formula for a mass entertainer? A catchy start, a captivating end, and entertainment in between. And to top all that, if you have a popular and good looking lead pair then the producers have a hit movie! Bhool Bhulaiya 2 exactly follows this formula and, no doubt is a successful masala entertainer.
Horror Comedy in itself is an interesting genre, probably a first for Anees Bazmee. The movie continues the theme of Manjulika from the original Bhool Bhuliya, but this new film is a standalone story.
Typical of Anees Bazmee movies, the story builds up on situational comedy, with dollops of confusion topped with quirky one-liners.
Manjulika is a ghost who has been locked up in a deserted haveli by the Thakur family. Kiara, the Thakur’s daughter, and Karthik land up in the haveli to hide from the family, but accidentally the entire family lands up there. To add to the confusion, Kiara is presumed dead and Karthik Aaryan holds the reins together as the fraud psychic who talks to the ghost of Kiara.
The story has many senseless angles and side stories that are needed in a slapstick comedy, but it does not slip from the entertainment quotient. The horror elements are well placed and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. However, this is mostly a comedy movie. While watching, I couldn’t spot a single dull moment in the movie. The climax is very intriguing and unexpected thus hinting at Part 3!
The film is bustling with character actors and all have supported it well. The comedy fort is held up high by Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Ashvini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma, and the young kid Potlu aka Samarth Chauhan. They are a laugh riot! We also see Govind Namdeo and Milind Gunaji after a very long time.
Since the ghost is central to the plot, all three lead actors get to play the ghost in parts – Tabu, Karthik and Kiara. Tabu has a double role and balances well between the good and bad. Kiara has little to do, but she is very comfortable in her role and pleasant to watch. Karthik shoulders the movie effortlessly. Bazmee exploits all talents of the actor.
In the lingo of masses:
iss performance mein comedy hai, emotion hai, horror hai, dance hai, romance hai, but most importantly bahut lively hai!
Credit goes to the writer and director, Anees Bazmee. I feel that Anees Bazmee is a writer at heart and is a very effective storyteller. If this movie feels like a David Dhawan comedy, it is because most of Dhawan’s films were written by Bazmee (Swarg, Shola aur Shabnam, Aakhen, Bol Radha Bol, Raja Babu, Deewana Mastana, etc.). His own directorial have been runaway hits too – Welcome, Singh is King, No Entry, Ready. But his last few movies have been a mixed bag: Welcome Back, Mubarakan, Pagalpanti.
The audience has thronged the theatres to get lost in this Bhool Bhulaiya! I watched it in the second week in Melbourne and it was a housefull. And the best part is that 70% of the audience were ladies. This is a testimony to the female fanfare of Karthik Aaryan even across the ocean. And the fans weren’t disappointed!
Now that movies are crossing the Rs 1000 crore ($200m) mark, Rs 100 crore ($20m) in the opening week may seem a bit low, but by box office standards this movie is definitely a super hit. So it is a SauKaror comedy movie!
I would recommend that you go and watch this film in the theatres or wait till it hits OTT. Once you have seen the film, you will be in splits and this movie will certainly be on your repeat watch list on OTT.
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Contributing Author: Sanjiv Kulkarni is an ardent Indian cinema and music buff with an interest in the art of movie-making. He shares his take on movies and some rarer movies too. He lives in Melbourne and works as an IT Sales leader.
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