‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ review: Dispirited and forgettable

Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa sees Kartik Aaryan return as Rooh Baba, the raffish shaman who both can and cannot see dead people. In the previous film from 2022, Rooh Baba battled identical twins named Anjulika and Manjulika. In the latest movie, Rooh Baba tussles with another Manjulika, who could be either Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit.

A padlocked door that should be left alone is nevertheless opened yet again, spilling out mild scares and truck-broad comedy. Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra and Ashwini Kalsekar are around once more as characters keen on exposing Rooh Baba as a conman. Pritam’s composition Ami Je Tomar, which has survived from the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) as stubbornly as the notion that all ill-tempered female spirits are named Manjulika.

Imagination is largely in short supply in the threequel, which has been written by Prakash Kaushik. Except for a twist about Manjulika's identity that works well, the film has little that we haven't seen before in the previous movie.

One of the big changes is Rooh Baba’s object of desire. Although Kiara Advani worked just fine in BB2, trending star Triptii Dimri is the one who captures Rooh Baba’s heart this time. Meera (Dimri) hires Rooh Baba to free a haunted mansion from a run-down palace. There are...

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