Bhooth Bangla Movie Review: Back in 2007, Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar joined hands to helm the first horror-comedy of our times, Bhool Bhulaiyaa. It made for a unique genre-blend. It was ambitious in scope and yet never lost sight of its emotional and rooted core. The film set the stage and ushered in a plethora of other horror-comedies that Hindi filmmakers continue to place their bets on.
So, years later, when Priyadarshan and Akshay decided to reunite, a horror-comedy like Bhooth Bangla perhaps felt like the safest bet. They, after all, are the flag-bearers of this genre. But it’s this ambition that becomes their biggest block. If Bhool Bhulaiyaa dared to raise questions around mental illness under the garb of comedy, Bhooth Bangla merely reinforces blind beliefs and mumbo jumbo by making Akshay lock horns with himself.It does end up crashing under the weight of its own lofty aspirations. Originality isn’t its strongest suit either. Priyadarshan borrows moments and tropes from his previous films – call it inspiration or a carefully disguised tip of the hat. When Akshay repeatedly thrashes Rajpal Yadav, our in-house whipping boy, for secretly looking at women and for his incompetence, you’ll immediately be reminded of Khatta Meetha.
