Bhool Bhulaiya 2 becomes one of the biggest box-office hits of 2022. But is box-office collection the only parameter to tag whether a movie is worth it or not? This article explores whether Bhool Bhulaiya 2 was actually worth it.
Bhool Bhulaiya 2 Plot
Ruhan Randhawa (Kartik Aryan) and Reet Rathore (Kiara Advani) meet on a bus journey. With Randhawa trying to charm Rathore with his cliche attempts, they become friends and the only survivors of a fatal accident. Reet decides to pretend to be dead in front of her family so that she can assist her sister in marrying the man she loves. And Ruhan, who just met her, decides to leave everything and help her in this pursuit. This leads him to a haunted palatial mansion owned by Reet’s family. According to legend, the haunted mansion is home to a ghost named Manjulika. What happens next is crucial to the plot.
Yay moments
It is a no-brainer that Tabu is the movie’s only saving grace. She is scary, convincing, and excels in her performance. She is the only character who brings some sense to the plate. Another yay moment of the movie is Karthik Aryan’s performance of ‘Mere Dholna Sun’ sung beautifully by Arijit Singh. His 5 minutes performance made me wonder whether Manjaulika actually possessed him.
Nay Moments
There are many forgettable performances in the movie. Karthik Aryan reprises his boy-next-door character. After showing his acting chops in the film ‘Dhamaka’, one would feel disappointed with his performance. Kartik appears to have watched several Akshay Kumar films to win an impersonation contest or maybe watched the first installment to get into Ruhan’s character. The only moment he shines is the ‘Mere Dholna’ song; that’s it.
Kiara Advani doesn’t have enough to do in the film. She is just….Kiara Advani. Like her co-star, the scene in which she transforms into Manjulika (shown even in the trailer) is pretty much the only one in which she acts. Guess there is some magic in that song.
The supporting cast, with Rajpal Yadav recurring as Chota Pandit, Sanjay Mishra, Ashwini Kalsekar, and others, try hard to deliver comedy punches, but it just feels cringey. The trio of Yadav, Mishra, and Kaleskar is a total waste in the movie. Even Rajpal Yadav couldn’t save the film with his comedic genius.
Why didn’t Bhool Bhulaiya 2 work?
Personally, I felt that the writer was in a hurry to finish the script of Bhool Bhulaiya 2. He added all cliche plots and predictable twists. For instance, when Chota Pandit confronts Ruhan, that is why his photo is in the obituary section. If they had explored the narrative where it is discovered that Kartik Aryan was dead (which explains his picture in the newspaper), that would have been an intriguing twist. But the makers chose to go with the standard narrative of twin sisters, with one being jealous of the other, swapping the good with evil and whatnot! The story had the potential to become an appreciable horror-comedy.
Bhool Bhulaiya 2 tries too hard to make the audience laugh, but it fails. One of the drawbacks of the film is writing. It’s 2022, and it would be criminal to continue laughing at sexist and fat-shaming jokes as an audience. Dialogues like ‘Iss bag main bomb nhi, yeh bomb ka bag hai’, and fat-shaming the kid by referring to him as Haathi (elephant) are some of the instances. As an audience, one must reflect on how we are appreciating and consuming such sexist punches.
The writers attempted but failed miserably to recreate the late-2000s slapstick comedy era. There are too many loopholes in the writing. For instance, young Reet witnessed what happened to her sister-in-law and has been told by the family to never return to the haunted haveli. Still, she thinks that the haveli is the safest place for her in the entire village. She didn’t believe in the legend of Manjulika, but after some strange occurrences, she suddenly starts believing in the tale. The first film was a psychological thriller, whereas Bazmee’s attempt to transform it into a horror-comedy falls flat.
Did it deserve the hype?
Honestly, one can see the audience laughing and cheering for the characters in the theatre. If you ask them whether they were entertained? It might be yes. But is this the standard of entertainment that we expect from our mainstream cinema? A big no!
Clearly, a box-office collection can determine a movie’s monetary success but cannot guarantee good content. Bhool Bhulaiya 2 was a missed opportunity.
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