The golden desert of Rajasthan! Opulent palaces! Colourful, uplifting attires! An entourage of distinguished and promising actors and amid all of that, the familiar eerie feeling that the big predecessor to Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 brought to the fore: Monjulika from 2007’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa.
The trailer to Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, the much-awaited and what could be, arguably speaking, among the biggest Bollywood releases this year was released on April 26, 2022.
The film, quite like it’s much loved antecedent, the Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar-starrer mege release, looks spooky, a laugh riot, and above all- a thorough entertainer.
It’s just the kind of film content we so desperately seek in this age of OTT content that is perhaps a bit too overloaded with crime dramas and fast and edgy thrillers.
This is an age where a narrative, typically speaking, must have- from what we’ve come to see on content streamed and published on apps- either a kidnapping as its central plot or a woman hero out to either rescue or settle scores with someone who’s rendered damage.
Not that women, who are naturally exceptional, is a problem; the issue is with too much of vengeance, vitriol or bloodshed that’s hijacked a space that could be happy or light in a sense.
What’s more? Most of the plots have murderous streaks in them that are a tad bit loosely strung on flimsy narratives. So against that background, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 arrives as a refreshing breather of sorts. From what is clearly evident from its punchy trailer, the film tries to do the following:
A) It snuggles up but only just on its famous predecessor and tries to allure audiences with perhaps making Kartik Aaryan’s character a tad bit more self-deprecatory than what was Akshay Kumar’s role in the previous instalment of the Aneez Bazmi cult classic. Aaryan’s character is even served a plate laden with food by a kid, who apparently suggests that a ritual directed him to feed a ‘dog’ on a particular day and only then shall he obtain better fortune. His ro
B) The focus is, rather unfailingly, on the myth, might and the captivating magic of Monjulika, the resident ghost lurking around a grand palace that is the backdrop of the movie. That it may also turn out to be Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’s backbone could be down to the acting prowess of Kiara Advani- and how can she actually carry the film along with her famous co-star Aaryan.
Upon seeing the trailer, you can’t be blamed to perhaps compare Monjulika as played by Vidya Balan back in the day and the one played by Advani, one of Bollywood’s prettiest current sirens, fifteen years later from the first film.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Trailer: Watch Over Here:
The difference as one would gauge from a what is not an awfully short trailer duration at 3 minutes 12 seconds is that the Monjulika out there to scare us this time around is prettier. But whether dazzling- only the film and its reception can reveal.
Moreover, the film is seemingly not short on slapstick, which is compelling; Kartik Aaryan’s character, in his first brush with the ghostess says, how can you be the ominous one since the feet of the witch, much like Donald Trump’s tweets, are twisted!
Whether it’s presence of mind or something outrageously stupid to say- it’s funny.
Among the things that stand out is what happens, precisely at 2 minutes 42 seconds. The shot where Kartik Aaryan taps the shoulder of a mysterious figure with its back to him, only for it to turn and reveal the face: it’s Kartik Aaryan himself! It’s something that’ scary and drastic but also seems to suggest that maybe the movie plot could be about a shape-shifting ghost or one that takes multiple avatar.
But this is conjecture. We don’t know what the true film may unfurl. But what it could, seems rather interesting and that’s not just down to the presence of two of India’s exuberant actors; that Rajpal Yadav returns to his previous role in this second installation of the rollicking horror comedy along with Tabu makes the prospect of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 an unmissable watch.