‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ Review: A Hilarious Horror-Comedy That Had Potential To Be A Brilliant Spoof Had It Not Taken Itself So Seriously
Bollywood isn’t the best with horror films, let’s be fair. Most of them keep reusing the same safed saree me chudail type tropes repeatedly until all there is left to do for the audience is to roll their eyes and yawn. However, there are some horror films that genuinely have held my attention and one of them has to be the 2007 banger, Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Okay, to be fair, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a horror-comedy and not a proper horror, but it is a brilliantly written film with multi-dimensional characters. Plus the trajectory of the plot of the film was so well executed. So when Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was announced starring Kartik Aaryan, Tabu and Kiara Advani in pivotal roles, it had people’s attention. The film was met with a lot of skeptical criticism with no one expecting it to live up to the standards the original had set. So if you are in the same boat and curious about what Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 has to offer, read ahead for a spoiler-free, honest review.
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Plot
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Reet Thakur (played by Kiara Advani) and her family have an abandoned and haunted mansion where the ghost Manjulika resides. The family has her locked away in a room of the mansion since 18 years. Being someone who does not believe in ghosts, she takes Ruhan Randhawa (played by Kartik Aaryan) and opens the doors to the mansion letting out the spirit of Manjulika.
Characters and cast
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Let’s discuss the main characters first. I absolutely enjoyed Kartik Aaryan as Ruhan Randhawa. His character is shown to be a comical, goofy and extremely jugaadu person which I think was the perfect character for an actor like Kartik. He brought his own quirks to Ruhan’s personality which honestly made for a very entertaining watch.
Also Read: Kangana Ranaut Talks About The Box Office Clash Between ‘Dhaakad’ And Kartik Aaryan’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2′. Her Response Is Gold!
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Kiara Advani as Reet Thakur was a wildcard for me and she did not disappoint. I wasn’t sure how well she would fare in a comedy film but her comic timing was amazing and her chemistry with Kartik really caused the Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 to be a riot.
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Tabu plays Reet’s aunt who she and Ruhan refer to as ‘bhabhi’ throughout the film. And let’s be honest, when does Tabu ever disappoint. She was just as effortlessly brilliant as she usually is in all of her projects. Other than these three actors in pivotal roles, the side characters were just as entertaining. Rajpal Yadav, Amar Upadhyay, Sanjay Mishra, Milind Gunaji, Karmveer Choudhary, Rajesh Sharma and Siddhant Ghegadmal all made for a very entertaining cast.
Execution
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 does not have a similar sense of humour as Bhool Bhulaiyaa does but it is very humorous and made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. So I would definitely recommend the film if you are into good humour. As I already mentioned, the cast and characters really played off each other’s energy well making for some really funny jokes. The film also did a great job with the horror-comedy genre. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 will give you a jumpscare in one minute and make you laugh the next. The writing entails there to be jokes in moments when the audiences feel fear which makes the whole viewing experience less overwhelming and more enjoyable.
Now let’s discuss the parts I did not like. The inconsistent writing got to me. While the storyline and humour were top-notch in the first half, somehow the writing kinda went south for the second half. While the humour quota did go back up, the story just went out of hand for me. The lack of properly explained backstories and logical reasoning behind many events caused there to be a few glaring plotholes. Also, I cannot ignore how the characters were written. While they worked really well together, I do not think that they would survive as standalone characters. There is so much we don’t know about Ruhan and Reet who are supposed to be the main characters of the film. I feel as though they were written so one-dimensionally unlike Bhool Bhulaiyaa which had detailed and multi-layered characters with nuances to them.
Verdict
I would recommend you to watch Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 for the fun character dynamics and the well-maintained quota of fear and comic relief along with hilarious jokes. However, considering the fact that the film really used a lot of typical horror movie tropes, I believe that its downfall was that it took itself too seriously while it would have been a splendid spoof or satire. Pair that with the inconsistent writing and the poor plot execution, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 leaves a lot to be desired due to the missed potential.
With that being said, I give Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 a 3 out of 5 stars.
