'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' movie review: Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit's horror-comedy is innocuous fun

Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar, and Sanjay Mishra

Director: Anees Bazmee

Language: Hindi

The idea of moving from a psychological thriller to a horror comedy feels both curious and correct. Bhool Bhulaiyaa came out at a time when Hindi cinema wasn’t piling up films of the same genre to please the box-office. The sequel came out when Bollywood was at a shocking and surprising cusp. We were fresh off the trial of the pandemic, and the sequel to an immensely popular film released after 15 years. There was no Akshay Kumar, but still there was Bhool Bhulaiyaa. It became a raging success. And with Stree 2, Munjya writing history, there was no reason for part three not to be made.

This time, there are two cherries on the cake. One is Vidya Balan, who sent a shiver down our spine with her bone-chilling performance in part one as the possessed wife. We call her Manjulika. She’s back. The second cherry is Madhuri Dixit, who plays Manjulika too. The rest of the cake has cream, chocolate, candles in the form of Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri (headlining films quicker than Akshay Kumar), and the inimitable trio of Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar, and Sanjay Mishra. They say timing is everything. The second part of the franchise hit the bullseye as it was almost like heavy rainfall after a long dry spell.

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But does Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 hold that well when we have just seen Stree 2, Bhediya, and Munjya? Kind of! If Akshay Kumar played a psychiatrist who arrived in full swag in the haunted haveli, Aaryan’s a farcical character who sells his facade with nonchalance and glee. He never wants to solve the problem until he has too. He did that with two Tabus in part two, he does that with the two Manjulikas in part three. Which brings us to the two leading ladies. Balan reprises the character after 17 years, and goes little overboard in reenacting that possessed performance. But props to an actor of her talent that she sportingly submits to the unassuming and unabashed vision of director Anees Bazmee and writer Aaksh Kaushik.

Madhuri Dixit’s flair for comedy hasn’t been tested with much aplomb except for those Indra Kumar films like Raja, Dil, and Total Dhamaal. This is her first collaboration with Bazmee and she gives what we say her best shot. Sorry, there were not two but three cherries on the cake mentioned above. It was the dance of Balan and Dixit that gives both the ladies the juiciest opportunity they have got in recent times. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 isn’t based on any folklore, it’s a work of pure fiction where the brains and the cells have to be left behind. It’s not inspired by any true story. After all, this is an offering by a man who has carved a pretty successful career making those larger-than-life comedies like No Entry, Singh Is Kinng, and Welcome.

And while two of those comedies were made with Akshay, this is also Bazmee’s second and definitely not the last collaboration with Aaryan. Unlike Balan, who returns to this world after 17 years, Aaryan is back only after two. He looks fresh, and sticks to the shenanigans he pulled off unapologetically back in 2022. His romance with Dimri feels labored and inconsequential but who would say no to arguably the most popular name in Hindi film landscape currently. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 could be savored taste; for those wanting to see romance have Aaryan and Dimri, for those waiting to see the OG Manjulika have Balan at their service, for anyone enamored by Dixit, she brings back the memories of Devdas with her thunderous aura and nimble moves. And for those stepping in with zero expectations, may not be exactly doing a Bhool!

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is now playing in cinemas