Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 movie review: Horror, history & humour! Madhuri Dixit's magic steals the show in Kartik Aaryan & Vidya Balan's spook-fest

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 poster

Film: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit & Triptii Dimri
Director: Anees Bazmee
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 2h 38min

A decent climax often saves a bad film. But a good one has the power to completely shift your feelings about everything you have seen before those last 20 minutes. That's also what makes concluding feelings about Anees Bazmee's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 difficult. The director returns with the third instalment of the horror comedy with its lead star, Kartik Aaryan, and the original Manjulika, aka Vidya Balan, who starred as the jilted spirit in the franchise's first film in 2007, helmed by Priyadarshan.

As far as scale and ambition go, it couldn't have gotten bigger than the latest instalment. Also in terms of cast, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 scores big as it also features Triptii Dimri, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Rajesh Sharma, and Ashwini Kalsekar. Just like the ensemble, the story by Aakash Kaushik is also packed with a lot of horror, history, humour, and heart. However, before the film reaches its core emotion, which also doubles up as a suspense thriller, it drags and seems directionless beyond a point.

Ruhan Randhawa aka Rooh Baba (Aaryan) uses people's belief in superstitions to run his shop as a fraud ghostbuster. His life is suddenly set for an adventure when he meets Meera (Dimri), who is desperate to sell her ancestral haveli, where resides the ghost of Manjulika. Almost 200 years ago, Princess Manjulika was burnt alive by her father for killing her brother, Prince Debendra Nath (also Aaryan), for being the heir to the king's throne. A pandit believes that only someone from the royal family can rid the haveli of Manjulika's spirit. So, Rooh Baba enters the haunted haveli, followed by restoration artiste, Mallika (Balan). Everything that Mallika does has an air of mystery. She is, after all, quite obvious about her intentions.

As the audience tries to figure out Mallika's tactics, the story introduces Rani Sahiba (Dixit), who wants to buy this cursed haveli. Finally, we are shown that the two women were the sisters to the murdered prince. A lot is going on in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, and much of it is spooky initially. But the novelty of jump scares wears off soon. The film's humour attempts to compensate for the lack of horror. Bazmee proves, yet again, that he is a dependable comedy filmmaker. The humour doesn't always land, but when it does, it leaves you with many chuckles and laugh out loud moments.

However, the movie loses its steam en route. At one point, it feels like the filmmaker has no clue how to reach the end point. Yet, he goes on in the hope of finding the conclusion in the dark. It tests your patience; ultimately, the laughs become tiring and borderline annoying. Here, though, it's important to mention that only Dixit makes you want to stay with the film. She is magical, and her theatrics seem an absolute fit to the fantastical nature of Manjulika's world.

What, however, will surprise one and possibly also make Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 appear to be a better film than it actually is, is how Bazmee ends it. No spoilers here, but the enigma of Manjulika finds a moving tale in the film's climax, which brings together all the characters under one roof. The execution, though, is quite primitive and half-baked, with both Bazmee's direction and the lead star's performance falling short. But Aaryan, with this film, comes across as ambitious as a movie star. Saying anything more about him or the film would inadvertently give away the suspense.

But, what warms the heart is that the year that so far belonged to Stree 2 now has another stree dominating the screen, whether seen or not. It's the kind of mass that makes you cheer and hoot.