Bhool Bhulaiya is the fourth time Madhu Mattom’s written story has been adpated to the big screen.Helmed by Priyadarshan this is a unique attempt at mixing horror, humour and thrill.No doubt, however, there will be plenty of people comparing it (unfavorably in all likelihood) to the Malyalam movie Manichitrathazu, of which Bhool Bhulaiya is a frame to frame remake(except for a few changes).
Don’t listen to those people. There’s a good probability that fans of Akshay Kumar movies will enjoy this one, but comparisons are needless and unfair. How can anyone really judge anything they’ve seen only recently and probably only once against something else that’s become a part of cinematic culture and history.
Does it work? In parts yes, but in entirity no.
The problem that I have with Priyadarshan is the fact that so little creative effort has been put behind this rather interesting premise.Cheap jokes about body parts, out-of-place over the top humour and an allout Akshay Kumar show are blatant attempts at avoiding taking the risk of reducing the stars screentime in order to give the story a greater punch.
The initial half an hour of the film intended to adapt the story to a North Indian setting(apparently Mr.Director feels that by shooting at authentic North Indian locales like Benares and then moving on to Jaipur will give us this feel) and show us the existing superstition amongst the characters(who apparently have nothing to do with the premise) is so poor that you get the urge to pull your hair out.Once, Shiney and Vidya arrive things do perk up but whilst this period could/should have been used to establish Avni’s(Vidya) character in a manner that the viewer gets an insight into her pysche what we see is a half-hearted attempt at trying to ensconce the spookiness in the story.No solid reason is offered behind Nandini taking the risk of stealing the key to the ornate lock from her father(Paresh Rawal)..doing it just for a book written by her soon to be hubby?err..jama nahin! So, all we get to see are rocking chairs, mice running on pianos and cats doing nach baliye under a basket.The entry sequence of Akshay Kumar is very good though and provides most of the entertainment in the rather boring first half.
The second half in comparison is a marked improvement.It is an all out Akshay Kumar show from here on and his buffoonery raises the film to a different level.The role of the whacky pyschiatrist played by Akshay Kumar is almost Jack Sparrow-esque, though he manages to hold the comic bit together and shines in each scene he lacks the charisma to handle the serious moments as well.As we head towards the climax you have enough clues to unravel the mystery which to be honest could have been unraveled in the first half itself had you been paying attention.Priyadarshan’s attempts at moving the suspicion buck around are exceptionally lazy as well.
So, a couple of songs(that add nothing to the narrative)later we arrive at the climax which to be honest had enough promise to give you a major jolt but the uninspiring first half minimalises its effect.Nevertheless, the exorcism part is actually the high-point of this film but again it could have been so much more effective.If you were not to scrutinize this part for minor glitches this offers a decent dose of horror actually.But, the hypnotism and Akshay proposing to Amisha later make you cringe again..and this was actually supposed to be an intelligent film!
Coming to the performances, Akshay Kumar is the sole reason why this film is watchable but also the reason why you wont be raving about it.As I said earlier, his coming timing remains impeccable and manages to bring the house down, but it lacks that x-factor that would elevate the film from the ordinary to something noteworthy.He holds it together though and deserves credit for that.
Shiney Ahuja looks out of sorts at times and those exaggerated hand gestures dont go down well.Lip syncs arent his forte as well.Although he does fairly well in the emotional moments.
Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav add nothing to the story..and only eat up more time.
Rasika Joshi manages to irritate each time she comes onscreen.
Amisha Patel acts like a newcomer.
Manoj Joshi and Vikram Gokhale do well in their small but important parts.
Now, for the most debated aspect of this film, Vidya Balan’s performance.Most reviews I read about this film were prejudiced especially to her.Having seen the original and the Tamil remake what I found is that she deserves every bit the praise she recieved from those who hadnt seen the original.Despite suffering from rather weak characterisation she manages to leave an impact shining in every scene she appears in.The climatic portions go on to showcase her true calibre as a performer as she manages to hit each note perfectly.Not exactly being the queen of classical dances she fails to match up to Shobhana’s brilliance but her expressions in the same manage to save her.This is no career-defining performance for sure but along with Shilpa Shetty in Metro and Kareena Kapoor in Jab we met it is the only performance worth taking note of this year.
The production values are quite good.The editing could have been crisper.A few scenes could easily have been chopped out.The background score is good and gels well with the theme.
Overall, this is a disappointing fare with overflowing minuses managing to camouflage the pluses.You might as well want to give this one a try because it is quite different from what we generally see but expecting something extra-ordinary would be a mistake.