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| Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Movie Review (Photo Credit – Facebook) |
The Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise is considered to be one of the foreplay in horror comics for Bollywood long. Fresh from the maker of Diwali dhamaka, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 hits theatres with Anees Bazmee at helm to deliver laughs, nuts and khufiya reminiscent this festive season. Yet, the film does not hit the mark, failing to find the balance between horror and comedy that made this original movie so great. Inspite of casting three powerhouses like Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan and Kartik Aaryan, the film lacks in its ability to be a laugh riot or scary.
The Plot: Comedy, Chaos, and Stereotypes
In the film, Ruhaan (Kartik Aaryan), turns a con man who ends up battling with Manjulika yet again. Hired to solve a mystery that hints at family politics, betrayals and old grievances; a palace haunted by its own past. The story leads Ruhaan through a series of creepy, comical run-ins, but the script reveals what many co-writers termed an unfortunate truth: There's no story.
While the earlier film held a delicate ratio of comedy to horror, this one feels confused. For the most part, stereotypes and cultural caricatures are used just to get an easy laugh. Simultaneously, Bazmee is a bit too keen on adding his progressive-designed themes that the writing feels patchy and disingenuous.
Performances: Kartik Shines, but Madhuri and Vidya Deserve More
What works best for the film is Kartik Aaryan, who displays his natural comic timing as Ruhaan. He channels the comic good humor of Akshay Kumar in the original, injecting some much-needed whimsy and a feisty mischief that drives the story along even through screenplay stumbles. But the spotlight is firmly on Kartik, leaving less space for the other people in this powerhouse of a film.
Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan, among others added to the excitement for fans! Madhuri plays a grey shaded character for the first time in her 20 years of career- showing us her other side as an actress. Not fully through any fault of Woodkid, who brings the heat as a transformed Elizabeth Bennett — but the script doesn't give enough space for this character to breathe and devolves her largely into delightful bits and pieces. While Vidya is back in the role that made her famed as Manjulika, this time her presence lacks the heft and fierceness to make the performance punchy. The two actresses do what they can with their little screen time but ultimately feel wasted in hollow roles.
Writing and Direction: A Confused Attempt at Progressiveness
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| Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Movie Review (Photo Credit – YouTube) |
One of the film's key flaws is in its conflation of progressive elements with butt-rock horror-comedy style. Though Bazmee's earlier work leaned on celebrating diversity, and subsequent comic relief, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 appears unsure of itself. It's a mess of broad-ish laughs that strain credulity with cultural stereotyping, but then contours leftwards to strike moments of being socially conscious.
Bazmee tries to contemporize the genre by incorporating a social message, but this never feels at home in the story. The film attempts to make a social comment here, that it's 'poverty' (or at least those who'd inflict suffering because of it) that's the true evil, more so than the supernatural threats posed by the forces behind the hauntings but it all feels rather token stic. Even though the premise is well-intentioned, it doesn't have the subtlety to really do anything with all these ideas in a horror-comedy context.
Supporting Cast: Strong, but Underutilized
The rest of the cast brings some comedic moments to the film as well such as, Vijay Raaz and Sanjay Mishra among others. While the humor in the movie is mostly flat, Raaz and Mishra bring depth to their characters with wit and energy. And their characters also feel thin, as the film brushes up against subplots that could have added some ballast but never goes below the surface.
Likewise, Triptii Dimri who has been fantastic in the last couple of years gets to play second fiddle (with little material) that primarily exists as an accessory for our hero. But what a wasteland of wasted opportunity her character is, and this was intended to be a sound introduction of female might in the face of shoddy chappal-fighting which the Vidya Balan-led franchise used to define a large part of itself with.
The Verdict: A Mixed Bag That Struggles to Find Its Footing
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| Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Movie Review (Photo Credit – YouTube) |
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has its funny moments and spooky bits, but nowhere near the burden of expected success going after at least two previous chapters. The film, which runs at 158 minutes, also suffers from some seemingly forced stretches as a number of scenes could be trimmed down slightly without losing impact. The need to resort to cultural tropes for humour- coupled with Bazmee attempting at being progressive, leads Pagalpanti down a tonal disaster. Even Kartik Aaryan, pulling out all the stops here with earnest and then some lifeless you can expect from Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan at only practically best fail to turn this film from a full house of rambunctious excitement into any other rudimentary level that most ideal case scenario might have hoped.
Conclusion: A Franchise in Need of Fresh Energy
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 might work for those looking for one in the name of comedy, but fans who want to relive the waves hit by its predecessor might not be satisfied. The joining of cast members is high, but the story isn't written well and ultimately makes for a mediocre entry in the franchise. In a year full of some fine Bollywood horror-comedies - including the sharper Stree 2 - Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 can't escape its mushy script, which is burdened by jaded writing that has neither the chills nor chuckles to linger in memory.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 serves audiences some nostalgia and star power, but it also lacks the novelty and heft that finally gave its forbearers substantiality. It is a movie that aims to please all, but leaves its viewers feeling like this haunted maze is short on turns.
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