Director Anees Bazmee and Co have returned for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and this time around, the film stars Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles along with Kartik Aaryan as Rooh Baba. The film also stars Tripti Dimri, Sanjay Mishra, Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma and Vijay Raaz in key roles.
Basic Plot- To prevent his scam business from coming into limelight, Rooh Baba agrees to the demands of Meera (Tripti Dimri) and her uncle (Rajesh Sharma) to investigate an allegedly haunted palace in Rakt Ghat, West Bengal, India.
Positives
Direction and Screenplay
Having directed quite a handful of comedy films earlier and also the prequel to this film, director Anees Bazmee does quite well in this film as well. He has repeated his usual tropes from his earlier comedy films here (the most evident one being the creation of confusion between several characters in some scenes and later solving it only to allow the audience to understand that some of the characters knew what was going on right from the beginning) which work well in this film. It's surprising to watch old-school comedy tropes still working in a contemporary comedy film, courtesy the conviction of the director. The screenplay is quite engaging for a decent story like this and it's the joint effort of the director and writer that the mystery of this film is successfully kept hidden till the last minute. The overall execution in pretty nice but the social messaging towards the end of the film, although presented well with a couple of dialogues, is under cooked.
Performances, Comedy and Technicalities
Performances have helped this film more than anyone would've ever expected. Kartik Aaryan in the lead role is convincing and unlike actors of his generation who work only with superior stories, Aaryan tries to make any story feel superior and special with his presence, and he's been able to do just that in this film. The superb supporting cast lend a major helping hand to Aaryan and it's the supporting cast and their performances that makes you laugh even in silly jokes, which you would otherwise ignore right away when watching this film on OTT. Vidya Balan brings back the 2007 charm in this film and does well. Madhuri Dixit on the other hand felt to be a letdown and a miscasting to a certain extent as well. She has that feel good vibe in her but nothing special to showcase in a Bhool Bhulaiyaa film. Nevertheless, the dance face off between Balan and Dixit with a surprising fusion of Bharatnatyam and Kathak is the highlight. The technical department does a good job in this film. The vfx is a bit jarring in a scene or two but that's forgivable. The camera work is handled well which actually elevate the horror scenes. Although there's quite a few of them and the set up is done in a haste, they seem pretty okay-ish.
Underwhelming Aspects
Conceptualization and the absence of Tabu
Although Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 served as a sequel to the 2007 film, BB2 was made from scratch with a revised story and cast & crew. This created a transition between the first two films in the franchise which made several goofs in the second film negligent. But one couldn't have afforded to have the same goofs repeated in BB3 as well, but sadly that's what has happened. Only Aaryan's character arc is continued in these two films and all other's have gone for a toss. Would've been better if they kept Aaryan as the constant character and others were subject to change according to the context (like what we've seen being done with Saif in Race 1 and Race 2). Several actors recur in both BB2 and BB3 and there's no continuation in their characters in the two films. Even same characters (played by Sanjay Mishra and Rajpal Yadav) lack continuation. How obnoxious! Seems like makers have forgotten that a BB2 also exists! Also, the most shocking of all is the exclusion of Tabu (Kiara Advani as well). Although she was offered this script and she rejected the same, you just cannot use the iconic character Manjulika as a 'cash-cow' to say the least and use it according to the context in every BB film. Manjulika cannot be changed as per you liking, especially after you've established the franchise Mr Bazmee.
Conclusion
BB3 was a golden opportunity for the makers to continue all the character arcs of the recurring characters in the franchise, which the makers terribly missed. This may seem alright at present, but might prove to be severely detrimental if other films continue to churn out of this franchise. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 may not be one of the best films in terms of content but it delivers what it promised, 'a good time at the theatres and solid family entertainment'. This is like the generous Diwali gift box, which although contains things ranging from a matchbox to gangajal, and yet you accept it coz why turn down a complete package!
Watch Out For
Kartik Aaryan's performance in the unexpected climax.
WTF Recommendation
7.5/10
