Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Review: Had It Not Been For The Twist in the Climax, This is A Decent Entertainer

RATING - ⭐ ⭐ ✨ 2.5/5*

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Review Movie Talkies:

Anees Bazmee failed to match Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) because it was a remake of a pathbreaking Malayalam masterpiece. The success of BB 2 led him and Kartik to BB 3, but this time they brought the nostalgia of Manjulika, aka Vidya Balan, back (in the original, Shobana gave the best performance and also won the National Award). To add more spice, they brought graceful Madhuri Dixit, and we all thought that there would be a battle of dances between these two ladies. Well, we are not that lucky. They are together instead. But who's Manjulika, and what does she want? The twist may be predictable if you have seen enough Korean thrillers, but if not, then this will be a surprise for you. Even after that, I am not quite sure how you are going to take this homosexuality element since our nation/society doesn't really accept these things easily. But if that works for you, then I guess you are in for a decent entertainer with less horror and more fun.

The film is about Roohan (Kartik Aaryan), a fake ghostbuster called Rooh Baba, who is hired to do a job by Mira (Tripti Dimri) and her uncle and is taken to an ancient, haunted mansion. Roohan is told that he has taken rebirth for Rajkumar Debendra Nath, who was Prince of this mansion years ago. Mallika (Vidya Balan) arrives at the same haveli as an architecture expert to the restoration work, and the haunting begins. The haunting becomes even more scary and usual when Rajkumari Mandira (Madhuri Dixit) arrives at the same haveli as a buyer. Roohan and Mira are experiencing unusual activities and have their own doubts about Mandira and Mallika. Since Durgashtami is coming close, they must find out who is the real Manjulika.

Aakash Kaushik has given us an unusual twist at the end—unusual because Hindi movies don't attempt such stuff. Of course, it has been copied from some foreign movies, but I don't want to spoil the suspense here. Kaushik's storyline is intriguing and damn interesting since there are so many things happening at the same time and there are so many characters involved with each other at the same place. However, the screenplay falters at places while exploring those comical situations and horror scenes. You don't really expect the characters to do comedy and become subjects of childish activities when the ghost is standing in front of you and is set to kill you. The seriousness is lost there. Now, just imagine, if Shraddha Kapoor's character had done some comedy during the climax scene of Stree or Stree 2, how cheap it would have looked? That was Amar Kaushik for you. BB 3 doesn't really care about such reliable sources and feeding while providing entertainment to the audience.

Some other movies' references work well at times, while some look terribly childish. That Jawan spoof was childish and was forgivable, but come on, man, you can't really do the same thing with an iconic song like "Sandese Aate Hai." I wouldn't mind if it was done with some other song, but patriotic and emotionally attached songs shouldn't be spoiled like this. There are a few scenes like this that don't go well as far as organic laughters are considered, but otherwise, you get enough LOL moments—some with situational effects, some spoofs. Kartik trolling his own film Shehzada has to be one of those well-done/well-written jokes in the film. I wish there were some more one-liners like this that would have taken us deep inside to understand them and then burst out.

Speaking of performances, Kartik Aaryan seemed to be having fun and enjoying every moment out there. This wasn't an acting-driven role like Chandu Champion, which might remain his best performance for a while, so you know what to expect here. I should thank Anees Bhai for bringing that graceful Madhuri Dixit back on the big screen and giving her such a good role. Except that laughing after death scene, she was so good. Vidya Balan has those cringe moments that one would not accept since we have all seen her playing a different kind of manjulika in 2007, but overall it's a decent show by her. Tripti Dimri needs to work on expressions more. Bad Newz, Vicky Vidya, and now BB 3, the same problem with her in all three movies. Manish Wadhwa tops the supporting cast, while Ashwini Kalsekar, Sanjay Mishra, and Rajpal Yadav are fairly okay. There is one big complaint to Bazmee Bhai: How can you waste an actor like Vijay Raaz in a horror comedy? We are all fans of his 2-minute cameo in Stree (2018), and here he even with his 20-minute screen presence. Kauva Biryani is a memory, not just a scene.

Talking about technical aspects, the background score is too loud on many occasions but does work well otherwise. The VFX was top-notch in some scenes and then quite funny too at moments. The film suffers from good music, and even after remaking it for the second time, Ami Je Tomar from the original one remains unmatched. The direction of Anees Bazmee can be blamed for those flaws we see at many places. First, the film was overlong due to bad editing. Those songs shouldn't have been there at all. Some comedy scenes go terribly wrong, and then there is the climax—the decisional factor. I found it somewhat cringeworthy, not because of the idea but because it wasn't presented in a good manner. The same shots would have looked better, but I personally think it was a risky choice to choose a twist like for a horror comedy. If this works for Indian audiences, then I think Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 should have no problems emerging as a box office HIT. All the best to the team, but yes, it could have been better and more concrete for sure.

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