As a 2000s kid, the psychological thriller BhoolBhulaiyaa has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, a movie whose story-telling was so impeccable that it used to keep the audience at the edge of their seats, even if they weren’t a first time viewer. I remember watching the movie for the first time in the movie hall, back in 2007, thinking it to be a horror movie: I didn’t find the ghost that exclusively, but the demonic chilling presence was enough to send a tingle of fear down my spine throughout the movie. 

In the shoes of the legend! 

Akshay Kumar, with his incredible comic timing and presence, along with Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Asrani were perfect, and as much as the movie delivered on its promise of a bone-chilling experience, it also sent the audience tumbling down the edge for a barrel of laughter that brings tears to your eyes. Vidya Balan, as Avni had been an inspiration to see on the screen. And by god, when she used to turn to Manjulika, oh boy, was she scary! 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa, even after being taken from the South Indian movie, though by the same director Priyadarshan, Chandramukhi, had enough elements of its own to stand out as one of the gems in Bollywood and an evergreen movie throughout. 

Image Source: Hotstar

Years later, the reins of this extraordinary movie have been handed down to Aneez Bazmee, the same person who directed the most consistent flop chains in Bollywood for the past couple of years including movies like Pagalpanti, Mubarakaan, Welcome Back, and others.

For me, this stands out as one of the main reasons for my skepticism towards the new Kartik Aaryan starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. Aneez has produced some other successful movies as well like Welcome, No entry, and other no-brainer films but in the last few years, his work has significantly gone down, for which passing the pride to him is also what makes me fear for the outcome of the movie. 

What is the trailer of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 though?

The trailer of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 though has become popular in a very short span of time, has failed to incite an iota of excitement from me, as it fails to create the primary element of fear while portraying the black magic witch called Manjulika. According to the trailer, the said witch seems to appear after fifteen years,  creating havoc in the lives of the people in Rajasthan.

Kartik Aryan, Ruhan, seems to be a seance who has the ability to see and talk to dead people – which also raises the question of whether he is really someone with the gifted ability or just a fraud – and is requested by Tabu to help with the problem of Manjulika. In the later part, we see a drunk Ruhan opening the leeway that helps Manjulika escape from where she has been caged in, thus chaos ensues. And the rest… well, let’s wait for the movie. 

Positive aspects of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 trailer.

The graphics and cinematography are something that attracted me to the Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 trailer. The ambiance and the demonic laugh at the end of the trailer, mixed with the melodic voice of a certain someone are absolutely eye-enthralling. The background scores sounded hooking. The trailer has been packed nicely to form an entertaining package. 

What I found appealing was the attempt Kartik Aaryan did in portraying the character of Ruhan in the trailer. He seems to have control over his character and attracts the audience with his chocolate boy/ casanova personality. There is tremendous pressure and expectation on him to fill the shoes of Akshay Kumar, and I genuinely hope he is able to do so. 

Underwhelming aspects of the Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 trailer. 

In the entire trailer, Kiara Advani has been shown as an extended character without a character gravity, and I fear if that’s the case in the movie. Rajpal Yadav and Sanjay Mishra have been given space in the trailer, although their punches and comic lines have failed to ignite any sort of laughter from me. 

Apart from failing at the horror department, the humor also feels forced and tickled and the natural flow of laughter is absent throughout the trailer. In fact, the horror scenes which were supposed to be scary turned into a comedy for me. It’s sad that even actors like Yadav and Mishra too couldn’t save grace, at least in the trailer. 

What else? 

The trailer also showed us the melodic voice of Arijit Singh, which is another USP for the film, recreating the popular ‘Ami Je Tomar in the voices of Shreya Goshal and Arijit Singh, is a much-awaited moment from the film and I am looking forward to it. 

In short, the trailer looks entertaining even if it is underwhelming. The fact that the makers have chosen to introduce actual horror elements unlike the first part where psychology was given the main priority is a brave choice but also brings a burden of comparison and expectations.

These days the era of Bollywood Horror-comedy is as bland as water with a truly horrifying amount of impracticality and unrealism that it itself becomes a horror to the audience and now it is up to Bhool Bhulaiya 2 to relive the expectations from the audience, not to mention the original Bhool Bhulayia fans.   

All the best to the team!