Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Review: Anees Bazmee’s film is less spooky, more humorous

BHOOL BHULAIYAA 3

Director: Anees Bazmee

Cast: Kartik Aryan, Triptii Dimrii, Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Mishra, Rajpal Yadav

Released in theatres.

Rating: 

By Jyothi Venkatesh

Close on the heels of Munjya as well as Stree 2’s thumping success, comes yet another horror comedy. Anees Bazmee returns to direct BB after his 2022 hit, having taken over from Priyadarshan, who helmed the Akshay Kumar original (2007).

Conman Ruhaan (Kartik Aryan), who is parading as a cheeky ghostbuster Rooh baba (Kartik Aaryan), is confronted by not one but two female evil forces Manjulika (Vidya Balan) and Anjulika (Madhuri Dixit) in a haunted ancient spooky mansion that put his survival and analytical skills to acid test.

The old mansion needs to be restored to its former glory and sold, but Manjulika’s terrorising presence in it forbids the owners from doing so. The royal family in dire need of resources, and as such seeks Rooh baba’s intervention. The tragedy is that the story takes a considerable amount of time to build up, but the wait feels rewarding, thanks to a thoughtful, unexpected and strange twist in the climax.

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As far as the performances are concerned, I should say that it is Kartik Aryan who carries the entire film on his slender shoulders by investing his entire self on it while Madhuri Dixit, with her million-dollar smile, powerful presence and graceful dance moves is a sight to behold. The film marks the return of Vidya Balan to the franchise after her stellar portrayal of Manjulika in 2007.

The highlight of the film is their iconic dance-off in Ami Je Tomar, where each of the two actresses performs a distinct classical dance form – Madhuri predominantly Kathak and Vidya – a blend of Bharatnatyam-Odissi. Among the rest of the actors, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra and Ashwini Kalsekar, add their own unique humorous flair to the comedy. As far as Triptii Dimrii’s character arc is concerned, one wonders why on earth was Kiara Advani who was in the franchise earlier not recalled for this edition could have been asked to flesh it out better.

Situational ensemble comedies have been Bazmee’s forte (Welcome, No Entry) after all, so the departure from Priyadarshan’s psychologically tense theme is understood. The story takes a considerable amount of time to build up, but the wait feels rewarding, thanks to a thoughtful as well as a sudden twist in the climax.