There’s a scene where three funny thugs flee from a demon in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and slam against an invisible wall. The Netflix theme track ‘tudum’ plays in effect and Sanjay Mishra, in the role of Bade Pandit, remarks “Netflix kaun chaalu kiya be saala?” and I died laughing. I played it again four times before I could move on.
The Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise has always been a comical riot; the first one was arguably the funniest. Although that may have been Akshay Kumar’s natural talent in comedy delivering alongside a serious undertone to his persona that comes to play during serious scenes. Karthik Aryan, again – arguably – is a small downgrade in the franchise but Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 did deliver in terms of storyline and fun. I wondered how much more could the writers spin the Manjulika story for another movie to be made in the same series. They’ve surprised us and how.
The devil of Manjulika is imprisoned within a room locked with ritualistic material in a huge manor. She has a backstory where she was wronged in the past and is apparently seeking revenge against her wrongdoers even today. Should her soul be released from the room, she will find some connection from her past in the present and release mayhem. And hence, the manor is cursed by her presence and in every movie, a funny hero arrives who ends up either releasing the demon soul or being entangled in her pursuit for revenge somehow.
The central plot remains the same. Manjulika and her infamous prison room within the manor is unlocked and her spirit is released into the world. And now, the people involved are left with little to no help in stopping her.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 offers a wonderful surprise at the end. The storyline has incorporated two gorgeous women in the roles of characters that are potentially Manjulika in the movie, and we are kept guessing until the very end. There is no boring part anywhere throughout the span of the film but Karthik Aryan’s dance sequence towards the end is a little underwhelming – perhaps more so in contrast to the beautiful sequence that Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan put up in the middle. Also, Tripti Dimri and Karthik Aryan’s romantic angle drags us along in a couple of romantic songs that could have been left out of the film.
I hope there are more films in the Bhool Bhulaiyaa series though. The plot is still an interesting one despite being played out so many times and in so many languages. Its always entertaining to see what new turn of events are spun around Manjulika’s spirit being released into the world. So far, none of the turns have disappointed. I hope there are more of them because Manjulika’s story is a part of our childhoods and we’re not ready to let her go yet.
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