Bhooth Bangla Review: Entertaining horror comedy despite flaws
Bhooth Bangla Movie Rating: 3.5 Stars
Watched Bhooth Bangla movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my view on this movie.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu and Wamiqa Gabbi
Director: Priyadarshan
Release Date: 10th April 2026 in cinemas
Story: Movie revolves aroun Arjun Acharya (Akshay Kumar) who is an NRI who is pure-hearted but habitually a slacker and has made his father Vasudev’s (Jisshu Sengupta) life miserable by constantly borrowing money. His sister Meera’s (Mithila Palkar) wedding is finalized and the two set out in search of a venue that is budget-friendly yet regal.
The plot takes a twist when their grandfather’s will reveals a palace and land worth 500 crore located in a village called Mangalpur. Viewing in this a golden opportunity, Arjun decides to hold the wedding there. He decides to get his sister married in the house for which he starts its renovation. But there’s a hitch. No weddings are solemnized at Mangalpur because it is believed that the newly married bride is killed by a spirit on the wedding night itself.
However, Arjun doesn’t believe in ghosts and spirits and hence he neither heeds the warnings of the villagers nor the palace caretaker Shantaram (Asrani). He even calls wedding planner Jagdish Kewalramani (Paresh Rawal) to the village to plan a grand wedding. But strange things start happening in the house to people working on its renovation and to the wedding palnner and his team.
As the date of the wedding approaches, things go so out of control that Arjun has no option but to believe in the theory that the village is haunted. Arjun now decides to shift the venue to a nearby location. But that becomes impossible because Meera and guests from the groom’s side have already reached the haunted house. What happens thereafter?
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Story
4. First Half
5. Direction
6. Dialogues
Negatives
1. Length
2. Climax
3. Uneven Screenplay
4. Songs
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie on its release date as loved the trailer and also liked duo previous films. A man plans his sister’s wedding in a palace that he inherits in rural Mangalpur. Supernatural events and scared locals force him to investigate the mysterious past of his property.
Bhooth Bangla story has tremendous potential. Screenplay has its share of plusses. However, the writing could have been sharper, especially in the second half. Dialogues impress, especially the funny ones. A few one-liners will bring the house down. The first half is entertaining, driven by Priyadarshan’s brand of raucous comedy, and many scenes will have viewers guffawing as the quartet of Kumar, Rawal, Yadav, and Asrani embrace the physicality and exaggeration with gusto. There’s a scene where Arjun performs a pooja for his sister’s wedding, and the guruji asks him to pick up a sword, saying, “Ab isey kaato,” meaning for him to chop off a plant’s trunk, but Arjun bites the sword instead. The comic timing here, and in most of the film’s humorous moments, is noteworthy. While there are a few chilling scenes in the first half, the narrative turns fully horror after the interval. A flashback sets the context for the palace’s haunted history and the truth behind Vadhusur. The film scores high on the nostalgia meter. The palace setting and a particular dance performance evoke a strong Bhool Bhulaiyaa deja vu. The dialogues consistently land, ensuring plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. A major highlight is the visual effects. The second half, driven by a crucial plot twist, relies heavily on VFX, and surprisingly, it is executed with finesse, something rarely seen in this genre.
Akshay Kumar is the true show-stealer, and his comic timing is as superb as his sheer presence is intense. There is no match to his comic timing, and he also does very well in the serious scenes. Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav hilariously evoke a sense of nostalgia and make the film truly entertaining with their impeccable comic chemistry. The late Asrani is too good and his funny scenes in the first half are memorable. Bhavna Pani (Ragini) leaves a huge mark. Jisshu Sengupta, Rajesh Sharma, Manoj Joshi and Zakir Hussain do well. Speaking of the actresses, Mithila Palkar has the best role and is dependable. Tabu is quite arresting; however, she is hardly there. Wamiqa Gabbi puts her best foot forward, but her track seems forced and doesn’t contribute to the narrative. Priyadarshan retains his signature style loud, funny, and brimming with emotion and proves that he has a firm grasp on the horror-comedy genre. He remains completely relevant and continues to weave his magic within this genre.
However, the film is not without its flaws. Story is quite nice but only up to a point. After some time, as the story gets convoluted, it becomes clear to the viewers that incidents are being forced into the story to make it more and more intriguing without caring for logic. The screenplay is often weak especially in the 2nd half. The drama appears inane and seems more like an assemblage of scenes written with the sole intention of creating comedy but without caring for their overall relevance. Things, which are of paramount importance, are treated with such casualness that the audience get the impression that not much thought has gone into writing the drama. The backstory fails to entice. A few characters shockingly disappear in the second half. Even the ones that enter the narrative post-interval don’t get justified screen time. The climax is not half as exciting as it should’ve been. It is not clear to the viewers as to why Arjun and his grandfather Dushund Acharya are on different sides instead of being on the same side. The biggest drawback is the editing. With a runtime of nearly three hours, the film feels exhausting and could have been significantly shorter. Despite music by Pritam, none of the songs leave a lasting impression.
Overall movie aims to provide entertainment value instead of logical storytelling, which creates an enjoyable experience, and it succeeds. While the first half of movie is thoroughly entertaining and keeps one hooked, a crisper narrative and a shorter runtime would have made this horror comedy far more effective. Still, it still delivers enough laughs for a decent one-time watch. My view on this film Recommended If you enjoy horror comedies.
For more Movies and Cricket updates visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website