EXCLUSIVE | Anees Bazmee on 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3': 'Was keen to work with Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit will shock you in the film'

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee has an experience of four decades in Hindi cinema. He has been an assistant director to Raj Kapoor, an actor (He played the junior Shatrughan Sinha in Manmaohan Desai’s 1981 Naseeb), a writer, and then of course a director.

After the blockbuster success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Bazmee returns with part 3 that releases this Diwali with Singham Again and stars Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, and Triptii Dimri. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the man of the hour spoke about his new horror-comedy and much more.

Edited excerpts from the interview

What are your expectations from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3?

We have tried our best to make a beautiful film and are satisfied with the end result. I hope and pray people should love the film.

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Please talk about Vidya Balan’s return to the franchise as Manjulika

There cannot be anything better than this. I was keen to work with her for a long time and I thought of her when I was writing the script. When I met her and narrated the script, she was pretty excited. We have worked really hard on the script and that’s how the film started rolling.

Madhuri Dixit is the surprise package of the film. How did she come on board?

The most basic thing is that you approach an actor and you pitch the script to her. But they also look at other things like who’s making it, what it is about, and those things are also crucial. When I met her, she loved the story and her part, she has a fantastic role in the film. And when you see the film, you’ll be shocked that this is the part that has been given to her.

What are the elements that make part three better than the first two parts?

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 got a lot of love and it was a big success during the pandemic, and we hope the love continues and we have worked a film that’s bigger and better. We have VFX, there are five songs and all of them are beautiful, there’s a blend of horror and comedy. You’ll get everything in the film.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a remake of the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. What changes did you have to make in part two for the Hindi film audience?

Priyadarshan directed the first film and it was a beautiful film. I have not seen the original film, I have only seen this. We all started from zero.

You broke your leg while shooting. What were the challenges?

Everyone was so excited and when I broke my leg, my team felt ki kahin saara josh thanda nahin ho jaaye. I was also excited to start the film because I enjoy being on the sets. I reported to the sets on a wheelchair and this was my excitement for the film. I have made this film under excruciating pain.

What do you have to say about the way cinema has changed?

A lot of things have changed post the pandemic. They say all the changes come gradually but this was one change that came rapidly. Cinemas were shut so people consumed a lot of content on OTT across the globe. Our audiences today have gone through a lot of changes; what worked 7-8 years back may not work today. We have to change with the audiences.