A
gleefully
hammy
Madhuri
and
Vidya’s
volley
of
death
stares
and
evil
laughs
engage
in
a
ruthless
glamorous
tug
of
war
in
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3,
notes
Sukanya
Verma.
Just
like
the
earlier
two
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
movies,
kickstarted
by
Priyadarshan
in
2007,
the
third
of
the
horror
comedy
series
by
Director
Anees
Bazmee
revolves
around
a
phony
psychic
caught
in
the
family
drama
of
a
haunted
haveli.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3
opens
like
one
of
those
The
Mummy
preludes
unfolding
a
dark
history
from
200
years
ago
only
to
cut
to
the
present,
signalling
at
the
wicked
all
the
wrongdoing
has
unleashed,
which
Ruhaan
aka
Rooh
Baba’s
(Kartik
Aaryan)
goofball
ghostbuster
must
put
an
end
to
by
hook
or
crook.
Here’s
what
happens:
A
penniless
royal
family
in
Kolkata
strong-arms
the
star
scammer
into
rescuing
them
from
Manjulika’s
wrath
by
fulfilling
a
priest’s
claims
of
good
ol’
purvajon
ki
bhavishyavani
that
insists
Ruhaan’s
resemblance
to
their
ancestral
‘shehzada‘
is
a
case
of
reincarnation.
Him
wincing
at
the
mention
of
the
disastrous
Shehzada
is
an
early
glimpse
of
the
movie’s
spoofy
humour,
of
which
Rajpal
Yadav’s
Jawan
parody
and
Sanjay
Mishra’s
Netflix
tudum
run-in
and
Vijay
Raaz’s
kauwa
biryani
hat-tip
are
the
most
chucklesome.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa,
which
starts
out
a
bit
doddery,
saves
the
better
bits
for
last.
Until
then
a
tedious
amount
of
trashy
comic
cliches
and
soapy
drama
aesthetics
are
tossed
our
way
anytime
anything
bald,
overweight,
short
or
Bengali
is
targeted
for
tacky
jokes
as
Rooh
Baba
employs
his
so-called
otherworldly
gifts
to
protect
a
clientele
of
party
animals
and
philanderers.
Bazmee
leaves
no
stone
unturned
to
fuel
our
nostalgia,
be
it
tne
Zee
Horror
Show‘s
iconic
creepy
tune
or
OG
Manjulika’s
furniture
lifting
muscle.
But
the
deadly
mask-adorning
apparition
in
blood
red
it
conjures
on
its
own
is
the
least
scary
presence
so
far.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3
fares
better
around
those
flesh
and
blood.
Save
for
Triptii
Dimri
and
her
veiled
role
in
the
lore
that’s
cast
off
to
focus
on
her
eye-appeal,
the
likes
of
Sanjay
Mishra,
Vijay
Raaz
and
Rajpal
Yadav
are
reliably
hilarious
regardless
of
the
quality
of
the
joke.
Over
the
period,
Kartik
Aaryan
has
grown
more
comfortable
in
the
horseplay
genre,
but
more
than
his
attempts
to
channel
Aamir
Khan’s
smartass
Amar
(Andaz
Apna
Apna)
vibe,
it’s
his
fleeting
depiction
of
hurt
and
vulnerability
over
familial
betrayal
that
shows
spark.
If
he’s
the
pillar
to
all
the
twists
Bazmee
has
in
mind,
its
entire
drama
is
shouldered
by
Madhuri
Dixit
and
Vidya
Balan.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3,
once
again
penned
by
Aakash
Kaushik,
truly
kicks
off
when
this
spookily-connected
sisterhood
arrives
at
the
ghostly
palace
and
sets
the
stage
for
a
series
of
jump
scare
nightmares
and
spirited
dance
offs.
If
only
Manu
Anand’s
bland
camerawork
wasn’t
so
unimaginative
in
capturing
the
spectacle
and
scares.
Seasoned
actors
letting
their
hair
down
is
the
franchise’s
entire
point.
Where
a
rock
solid
Tabu’s
terror
twin
act
bolstered
Kartik
Aaryan’s
rising
stardom
in
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
2,
a
gleefully
hammy
Madhuri
and
Vidya’s
volley
of
death
stares
and
evil
laughs
engage
in
a
ruthless
albeit
glamorous
tug
of
war.
Object
of
fear
or
fashion,
Bazmee
lets
you
decide.
Between
the
quest
to
find
out
who
the
real
Manjulika
is
and
Rooh’s
shenanigans
around
a
crowd
of
bumbling
nuts
to
chase
off
the
bhoots
and
score
a
share
in
the
palatial
booty,
Bazmee
digs
deeper
into
the
farce
filled
with
red
hues
and
herrings
to
offer
something
unexpectedly
consequential.
For
a
franchise
that’s
build
itself
around
a
catchy
ear
worm
and
a
ghost
who
likes
to
introduce
themselves
in
ways
that’s
more
Bong
than
Bond,
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
preserves
its
‘silly
scary
movie
that
knows
it
is
a
silly
scary
movie’
tone
for
a
good
measure
only
to
pleasantly
surprise
with
its
sympathetic
take
on
transsexuality.
It’s
a
fine
thought,
if
a
few
drafts
underwritten,
and
deserved
a
little
more
complexity
than
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3‘s
chaotic
momentum
allows.
Even
so,
I
still
can’t
get
over
how
genuine
this
show
of
sensitivity
feels
in
a
movie
that
starts
out
dishing
taklu-bhenga
brand
of
laughs.
Let’s
not
make
the
same
mistake
again,
a
character
reminds
another.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3
is
first
to
find
redemption
in
that.
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3
Review
Rediff
Rating:
