The
Bhootnii
is
just
never
thrilling,
frightening
or
funny
enough
to
pass
itself
off
as
a
horror
comedy,
notes
Deepa
Gahlot.
Sanjay
Dutt
is
co-producer
of
The
Bhootnii,
and
stars
in
it
too.
The
actor
in
him
must
have
had
the
unfulfilled
wish
to
play
a
ghostbuster,
otherwise
there
was
no
reason
for
this
film
to
exist.
Written
and
directed
by
Sidhaant
Sachdev,
the
film
is
set
in
St
Vincent’s
College
of
Art
and
Culture
(seriously?),
which
allows
the
bizarre
custom
of
worshipping
a
tree
on
campus,
called
the
Virgin
Tree,
on
Valentine’s
Day.
Nobody
but
a
vigilant
student
notices
that
on
the
Holika
Dahan,
a
few
days
later,
a
student
dies
by
suicide.
There
are
rumours
that
the
college
is
haunted
but
it
seems
to
be
more
of
a
college
legend,
as
students
continue
to
tie
ribbons
to
the
branches,
leave
photographs
of
the
one
they
love
or
notes
with
their
romantic
wishes
under
the
tree.
The
prologue
with
a
voiceover
about
sachchi
mohabbat,
and
a
blaze
of
fires
around
the
tree
in
the
past
foreshadow
the
events
that
will
take
place
in
the
present,
not
that
what
unfolds
makes
much
sense.
Anyway,
the
titular
bhootnii
(Mouni
Roy)
has
to
make
an
appearance,
and
she
does,
when
a
drunk
Shantanu
(Sunny
Singh),
jilted
by
his
girlfriend,
howls
about
true
love
below
the
tree,
and
somehow
summons
the
lovelorn
spirit.
Shantanu
has
two
desperate
types
as
his
roommates
and
best
buddies,
Sahil
(Nick)
and
Nasir
(Aasif
Khan),
whose
primary
purpose
is
to
crack
silly
jokes
and
give
exaggerated
responses
to
the
goings-on
because
Shantanu
is
mostly
catatonic.
There
is
also
the
friend-zoned
girl,
Ananya
(Palak
Tiwari),
whom
he
confides
in,
as
she,
for
some
reason,
keeps
planting
the
same
flowers
in
a
pot.
When
students
demand
action
into
the
suicides,
the
college
summons
Krishna
Tripathi
aka
Baba
(Sanjay
Dutt),
an
expert
in
the
paranormal,
who
fights
and
gets
rid
of
spirits
with
a
carved
sword
or
ancient
gun.
Baba
decides
there
is
definitely
a
spirit
haunting
the
college,
and
places
weird
gadgets
around
to
figure
out
what
she
is
up
to.
The
bhootnii
is
initially
quite
harmless
—
her
make-up
is
scarier
than
her
demeanour
—
calls
herself
Mohabbat,
and
professes
to
love
Shantanu,
who
runs
screaming
when
she
tells
him
she
is
a
ghost.
That
unleashes
the
evil
in
her.
Which
means
her
eyes
flash
green,
her
skin
looks
scaly,
she
can
fly
around,
make
others
levitate
and
also
shape
shift
when
she
wants
to
—
old
TV
serial
level
of
special
effects.
Meanwhile,
the
other
students
and
staff
appear
and
vanish
at
the
director’s
whim,
Baba
comes
and
goes
as
he
pleases,
and
Mohabbat
also
obligingly
takes
a
break
for
a
few
hours
a
day,
so
that
Shantanu
is
free
to
clear
the
air
with
Ananya,
who
secretly
loves
him.
There
is
eventually
a
backstory
for
Mohabbat,
the
why
and
how
of
her
behaviour,
but
the
film
is
just
never
thrilling,
frightening
or
funny
enough
to
pass
itself
off
as
a
horror
comedy.
Horror
movies
demand
suspension
of
disbelief
but
a
good
director
can
make
audiences
believe
in
the
outlandish
mumbo-jumbo
and
also
make
them
jump
out
their
skins
with
spooky
scenes.
Mouni
Roy
has
played
Naagin
on
television
before,
so
manages
the
limited
expressions,
layers
of
gunk
and
wire
work
required
for
the
part.
Even
if
he
had
a
hand
in
its
making,
the
film
is
really
beneath
Sanjay
Dutt’s
stardom.
The
Bhootnii
Review
Rediff
Rating:
