A near-perfect Diwali gift Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajes...
A near-perfect Diwali gift
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma & Madhuri Dixit (in a special appearance)
Rating: 3.5*
Director Anees Bazmee hits the bullseye with his horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (BB3). He aces it up by springing a surprise every 15 minutes, which adds to the audience’s delight and gradually unravels the mystery. On top of that he keeps the film not very scary despite the presence of an evil spirit. The story, screenplay, and dialogues by Aakash Kaushik keep the viewers hooked. Yes, the humour quotient is much lesser than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) but despite that, Bazmee makes sure that the unexpected dramatic twist in the end leaves the audience stunned. Another downer in the film is the presence of too many songs. They spoil the rhythm of the film. However, the use of Ramsay’s signature background music comes as a tribute to the masters of horror.
There are also subtle hilarious references to Kartik Aryan’s Shehzaada, SRK’s Jawan, and Sanjay Dutt’s Dhamaal.
Ruhaan / Rooh Baba (an excellent Kartik Aaryan) and Tillu ( T Arun Kushwaha) live in Kolkata and con people by proclaiming to be ghostbusters. In one such act, they are caught red-handed and captured on the phone by Meera (Triptii Dimri) and her uncle (Rajesh Sharma) who let the duo off by blackmailing them into coming to their haunted ancestral palace in Raktaghat. With no options left, Rooh comes to the palace where he meets Meera’s father Raja Saab (a good Vijay Raaz), and other family members who stay in utter poverty in the stable as the palace is haunted by the ghost of Manjulika. The priest (an impressive Manish Wadhwa) of the family tells Ruhaan that only he can free the palace from the evil Manjulika as he resembles Raja Debendranath who was killed by Manjulika 200 years ago -in 1824. On top of it two mysterious women Mallika ( Vidya Balan) & Mandira (Madhuri Dixit) arrive at the palace to create more commotion.
Vidya Balan is brilliant keeping an aura of mystery, giving a powerful performance. In a special appearance, Madhuri Dixit arrives just at the interval point. Her screen presence and dancing are a treat always. Triptii Dimri is overshadowed by the two senior actors and Kartik but looks beautiful (why was she constantly showing her cleavage in low-cut blouses?) Sanjay Mishra (Bada Pandit), Rajpal Yadav (Chotiya aka Chota Pandit), and Ashwini Kalsekar (Panditain) literally bring the house down with their performances. They are a riot. Rajesh Sharma gets a raw deal. Kanchan Mullick as Faulad Singh manages to raise a few laughs just by his appearance.
BB3 is a perfect Diwali gift to the audience, especially with a brilliant and shocking climatic twist.
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