BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2: Movie review, The film starring Kartik Aaryan and Tabu flaunts its flimsiness

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To be fair, I believe the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa receives a far higher reputation than it deserves. It's nowhere near the level of one of the iconic comedy director Priyadarshan's better films. Truth be told, it lacks a bit in terms of horror or comedy for a horror-comedy, primarily clicking due to Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan rising leaps and bounds above the script. It was a big, neat, pre-climax twist before people had easy access to South originals to know what they were getting into with the remake.

While many may be wary of a sequel arriving 15 years later and having to live up to the perceived lofty expectations of its predecessor, the reality is that Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 only needs to have its horror and comedic parts more evened out, more in sync, and that's half the job done. The Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, and Sanjay Mishra starrer also has a solid narrative for the most part and an even greater pre-climax twist this time around.

So, are you looking for something to watch this weekend or this week and wondering if Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is worth your time? Scroll down to read our complete review of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

Watch the BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2 Trailer below:

What exactly is the plot of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Ruhan (Kartik Aaryan) follows Reet (Kiara Advani) to her ancestral, palatial home in Rajasthan after meeting on a bus to assist her in pulling off a major lie with her family. While her family and the surrounding community immediately believe he can connect with spirits, naming him Rooh Baba, both his façade and Reet's lie are soon threatened when her family's ancient malevolent ghost, Manjulika, enters the conflict.

What is Spicy in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Kiara Advani, who has made a career out of parts that need her to be appealing and throwaway (typically in that order), feels confident in this one as well. The plot is unimportant, except that she leads an actual stranger (Aaryan, whom she met half a day ago) to her haunted haveli in Rajasthan. There's an extensive Thakur family, led by Milind Gunaji, who spends the entire film shouting lines in a forced Marwari dialect.

Sanjay Mishra gives a perfectly competent performance in what appears to be his umpteenth role as a greedy priest entrusted with the humorous quip when things go too facile. Particularly when he leads a "revolution" into the Thakur haveli while singing "Apna Time Aayega." It's so ridiculous that it's at the very least humorous. Rajpal Yadav, who was popular in the mid-2000s, reprises his part from the previous film — a puny guy who is beaten up/traumatized on screen for the pleasure of his audience.

The producers compensate for Vidya Balan's acting abilities in the original with Tabu — Hindi cinema's favourite actor to play a less-than-ideal woman. Tabu is given little room to shine in a storyline that is dominated by flashbacks and Kartik Aaryan's teeth. She gives it her all, but Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 isn't the type of family that fosters Tabu performances.

While the first film used a horror picture as a vehicle to tell a (very important) tale about mental illness, the sequel devolves into pure bhoot-pret. It feels like a step back, especially after Stree, which employed the shape of a Bhool Bhulaiyaa for incisive commentary.

What is not Spicy

As exciting as the pre-climax twist is, the aftermath is perplexing and raises questions about how things will play out. The end execution also leaves a slightly lacklustre aftertaste in the mouth, especially when contrasted to everything that has gone before it. The music of Pritam and Tanishk Bagchi is a major letdown, with no songs, with the forced exception of De Taali making a tiny effect. Again, editing is an issue, with Bunty Nagi failing to cut roughly 20-25 minutes off the film.

Final Verdict:

Despite some narrative lapses during the climax and a slightly sour aftertaste, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is a very funny, effectively chilling horror-comedy, boasting a firecracker Kartik Aaryan in red-hot form, backed by veteran Tabu doing what she does best, a tight script, Anees Bazmee's best directorial work in years, a game supporting cast, and solid VFX, makeup, it still needs crucial points to be considered as a good movie.

My rating: 6.5/10