Bhooth Bangla Review

Before 2000, Priyadarshan was known for directing Gardish (1994) and Virasat (1997), both of which were remakes of South Indian films. After 2000, he delivered several hit films, including Hera Pheri (2000), Garam Masala (2005), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Khatta Meetha (2009). Neeraj Vora was his constant collaborator in the writing department. Following Vora's death in 2017, most of Priyadarshan's films have failed to make an impact.

Also, with OTT platforms now offering dubbed versions of popular South Indian films, remaking them in Hindi no longer guarantees success. So what does Priyadarshan do? He attempts - and does not quite succeed - to present a mosaic of his past hits, packaged as a horror-comedy.

Arjun (Akshay Kumar) lives in London with his sister Meera (Mithila Palkar) and their father Vasudev (Jisshu Sengupta). One day, he learns that his sister and he are the rightful heirs to a Rs 500 crore fortune and a mansion in Mangalpur. With Meera's wedding coming up and no venue decided yet, Arjun travels to Mangalpur to check out the mansion.

There, the caretaker Shantaram (Asrani) warns him that no one holds weddings in the town because of a terrifying legend. According to him, a demonic spirit named Vadhusur takes away the bride on her wedding night. Arjun dismisses this as mere superstition. The rest of the story explores the truth behind the legend of Vadhusur and whether the spirit really exists - or if the bride is in danger after all.

The trailer of Bhooth Bangla created genuine excitement - and rightly so. A horror-comedy featuring the tried-and-tested combo of Akshay Kumar, Priyadarshan, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani is hard to resist. Add to that the long absence of Priyadarshan's trademark situational comedy, and expectations were naturally high.

To its credit, the film starts on a promising note. Akshay Kumar slips comfortably into his familiar, easygoing comic avatar, reminiscent of that in Hera Pheri. Paresh Rawal, Asrani and Rajpal Yadav, too, bring back their signature quirks. The humour lands well initially, with simple, everyday situations turning effortlessly funny. For a while, the film feels lively and engaging.

However, this momentum doesn't last. As the story unfolds, the originality begins to fade. What follows feels more like a self-tribute than a fresh narrative - Priyadarshan revisits old gags, occasionally reuses dialogues, and stitches together moments that remind you of his past movies. The result is a patchwork of scenes that fails to fully work as either a horror or a comedy.

In what feels like a last ditch at a grand comeback, the film misses its mark. Priyadarshan resorts to his signature style - character banter and situational comedy. It begins brilliantly, but soon becomes repetitive, stretched, and too in-your-face for far too long (2 hours and 54 minutes), making you step out for a loo break even when you don't feel the need.

Performance-wise, Akshay Kumar manages to hold his own. He is effortlessly funny. If you were to take only his scenes, stitch them together and watch them separately, you would probably enjoy them. However, within the film, with so many things going wrong, his impact gets lost. Asrani, possibly in one of his final roles, performs exceptionally well. He is as funny as ever, but this time his acting feels adorably natural. Apart from these two actors, everyone else seems to have wasted their time. Even Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav appear overused and forced, resulting in little genuine humour.

Also, don't be fooled by the trailer - Tabu's role in the film is insignificant. And casting Jisshu Sengupta as Akshay Kumar's father clearly feels off, considering Sengupta is about 10 years younger than Kumar. Given the abundance of talented character actors, this choice is puzzling. In general, the large ensemble cast seems more like an indulgence than a necessity, serving the filmmaker's style rather than the story.

Technically, the art design is actually good. The sets of Mangalpur and the mansion, in particular, are impressive - visually appealing and a spectacle in themselves. However, almost everything else falls short. The CGI and VFX suffer the most, lacking the texture and depth needed to feel real. The film's post-production makes it look overly polished yet strangely lifeless.

Bhooth Bangla may also be one of Priyadarshan's weakest films musically. The background score feels silly, and the songs are unpleasant both visually and aurally. There seems to be little effort in syncing playback singing with the actors' performances - a basic expectation in film music. All three songs in the film fail to leave any impact.

The editing is another major issue. At times, it feels like the film barely went through a proper editing process. Despite unnecessary scenes and characters, this nearly three-hour film could easily have been trimmed to around two hours. Editing can't be sloppier than this.

Even the makeup is an issue - the ageing effect on Sengupta, with selectively greyed hair in an almost geometric pattern, looks cheap and reminiscent of '60s styles. The colour grading and overall visual treatment feel artificial and overly glossy, more like Instagram reel effects than a feature film.

In conclusion, Bhoot Bangla suffers on multiple fronts - weak writing, inconsistent performances and poor casting. It relies heavily on nostalgia rather than originality, and coupled with subpar production quality, it ends up serving just one purpose - being a NREGA scheme for film technicians.