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Flashback Films | Bhool Bhulaiyaa Is Manjulika's Masterclass In Horror, Without Her Ghost!
Bhool Bhulaiyaa released in 2007. Starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja and Ameesha Patel, the movie is a psychological horror-comedy, and not pure horror where Manjulika's ghost attacks humans. This deals with dissociative identity disorder. Ahead of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, we look back at the first movie in the franchise.
Flashback Films | Bhool Bhulaiyaa Is Manjulika's Masterclass In Horror, Without Her Ghost
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Bhool Bhulaiyaa followed Avni who converts to Manjulika to scare
- Vidya Balan as Manjulika was a departure from what she had done till then
- Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has Vidya and Madhuri Dixit playing two Manjulikas
When Vidya Balan lifted her heavy bed with one hand in Bhool Bhulaiyaa, audience freaked out. It was not because she proved why she is an actress at par in strength and stardom with her male counterparts, but also because her Avni revealed a new side to her. She was powerful, yes, but this power wasn't supernatural. It was psychological, because soon after, Avni tells her husband Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) that she's tired and needs to rest (ofcourse, after all that heavy-lifting!)
Bhool Bhulaiyaa is in its round three. The franchise turned into a horror-comedy from its second installment, a standalone sequel in 2022 where Kartik Aryan replaced Akshay Kumar. Now, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is set to take the screams one notch higher.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa - the scariest in the franchise
But fact remains. Bhool Bhulaiyaa, which first released in 2007 still remains the scariest, despite it not having any direct supernatural connotation, or any ghost. It was a pure psychological horror-comedy, where Avni suffered from dissociative identity disorder due to which she changed to Manjulika when her ailment took over.
The franchise now has two Manjulikas, this time Vidya is returning as one along with Madhuri Dixit. But back in 2007, Vidya needed no support. She was a one woman army who carried the entire Priyadarshan movie on her shoulders. We know it was a remake of Mohanlal's Malayalam gem Manichitrathazhu (1993), and Vidya was just getting into the skin of legendary Shobhana (comparisons are palpable), but what the Bollywood powerhouse performer did, was not just outside her comfort zone, but has become a reference point for Hindi films.
Horror of Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Vidya's conversion to Manjulika in that unkempt hair, shabby saree, and creepy expression can still give nightmares. The fear of the unknown as Akshay and his partner Chandu aka 'Goti' embark to unravel the truth is better than any demonic fear. Vidya's suspicious behaviour, Radha's presence at the scene of every accident, the late-night ghungroo sound, echos of Ami Je Tomar in Shreya Ghoshal's voice, Bhool Bhulaiyaa had a dozen things that makes it better than any modern day horror or horror-comedy.
Credit it to Priyadarshan's incredible direction or late Neeraj Vora's screenplay, or Akshay's best moments despite his entry almost halfway into the movie, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a smartly made cinema. It's regular dose of comedy by Rajpal Yadav and co. acted like a great breather whenever the plot got tensed. And amid all this, there was dollops of good jusic and some foot-tapping numbers. What a mixed bag using best of everything!
Manjulika's real horror
Many might claim that the presence of a tantrik to remove Manjulika's spell from Avni would make it supernatural. But that wasn't. It was an unconventional method of psychiatry aimed at curing Avni by fulfilling Manjulika's purpose of killing King Vibhuti Narayan. The entire Durgashtami sequence is a dummy for Avni, and among the highest points of climax.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa will always remain a benchmark for not just the franchise, but an example of how to scare, without any ghost or horror!
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Mimansa Shekhar author
A cinema nerd appreciating everything old school, Mimansa loves exploring behind-the-scenes world of movies and its histrionics, be it the black n whi...View More
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