Starcast: Akshay Kumar, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jisshu Sengupta, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Rajesh Sharma, Zakir Hussain, Mithila Palkar an...
Starcast: Akshay Kumar, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jisshu
Sengupta, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Rajesh Sharma, Zakir Hussain,
Mithila Palkar and Tabu
Direction: Priyadarshan
Music: Pritam
Over the last two decades horror comedies have
become perennial box office favourites raking in the moolah surely and
steadily. Be it the Bhool Bhoolaiya or the Stree franchise, Munjya or even
Thamma, people enjoy getting the chills and the added laughs watching these
horror comedies on the big screen munching over their popcorn and Pepsi.
Bhooth Bangla (no, it's not a remake of the Mehmood's 1965 cult classic Bhoot Bungla) was a much anticipated film with
Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar joining hands once again 15 years after Khatta
Meetha. Also with the star cast more or else similar to their monster hit
collaboration Bhool Bhoolaiya and giving off similar vibes it was a given that
Bhooth Bangla will be another feather in their cap of hits.
Well it's not always good to give off "old
hit" vibes as Bhooth Bangla goes on to deliver a film which does feel like
Bhool Bhoolaiya but also has elements of the 1979 classic Jaani Dushman and Stree resulting in a
queet hotch potch of a rather unpalatable dish which may or may not be relished
by the unsuspecting audience.
Arjun (Akshay Kumar) lives in London with his
father Dr Vasudev Acharya (Jisshu Sengupta) and younger sister Meera (Mithila
Palkar). Even as the marriage talks of Meera and her boyfriend Rahul are
underway, news reaches them of a grandfather they have never heard of
dying and Meera inheriting a palace in Mangalpur somewhere in north India.
Arjun turns up in Mangalpur to take stock of the
inheritance and discovers that no one marries in Mangalpur as an ancient demon
Vadhusur had the habit of kidnapping the newly wed brides who are never
heard of again.
Determined to cock a snook at all the stories Arjun
sets about revamping the palace as a wedding destination for Meera. He enlists
the help of a wily wedding planner Jagdish (Paresh Rawal), his crazy nephew
Sundar (Rajpal Yadav) and locals to get the place cleaned up. But he hadn't
reckoned with the supernatural happenings which begin to plague him. Along the
way Arjun also meets Priya (Wamiqa) a writer working on a book on ancient
temples, but who has an agenda of her own.
Too much old wine in a not so new bottle sums up
the stale script of Bhooth Bangla.
There are a few scenes when one does get
the hibby-jibbies, but in most cases the horror is tame and lame.
Akshay Kumar tries very hard to keep the comedy quotient high but his
unnecessary high octane screaming in the first half and lame jokes aren't
exactly impressive. Moreover the strain shows on his face, making him look
haggard and tired. A 49-year-old Jisshu as 58-year-old Akshay's father is one
big joke as no matter how many lines are etched on Jisshu's face and hair dyed
grey, he still manages to look years younger than his "son". Tabu is
wasted in the role of Arjun's mother, relegated to flashbacks in the
triangular doomed love story. Wamiqa looks cute but doesn't actually fit in the
script, a square peg in a round table. In fact if she was not there, she
wouldn't even have been missed! Mithila is shrill but strictly ok.
Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi, Zakir Hussain and Rajesh
Sharma are good. Asrani stands out in the brief role of Shantaram the caretaker
who vanishes half-way through the film (due to his untimely demise in reality),
never even being referred to later and of course Rajpal Yadav who elicits
genuine laughs with his antics.
Pritam' s music is lacklustre, there is not one
hummable number to remember him by, Even the "O ri O sawariya" track
reminiscent of "Ami je tomar" fails to strike a chord.
Anyone going to watch Bhooth Bangla hoping
for a masterpiece, think again. Revisit Bhool Bhoolaiya instead.
Watch the film at your own peril.
No comments