Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 might be doing very well at the Box Office, but as a film, it’s nothing short of a disappointment when compared to its predecessor, 2007’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa starring Akshay Kumar.
As of now, the 2022 sequel is the sixth all-time highest-grossing movie and seems like it’s going to climb even higher at the box office. But unfortunately, the sequel does not hold; story, genre, or continuity-wise.
First of all, the story didn’t continue from the original, which would have been difficult anyway, considering how it ended. But it wouldn’t have been an issue if the story for the successor was any good.
While the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a psychological horror film that fit in a good amount of comedy from a fantastic cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi and Chote Pandit famed Rajpal Naurang Yadav, the sequel was just a sad attempt to recreate the magic with Kartik Aaryan who honestly wasn’t a good fit to fill Akshay’s comic shoes.
Another U-turn the successor took is its deviation from a psychological horror genre and merging with other mediocre Bollywood horrors, where the haunting entity is just another tortured soul. Where Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) showed how myths and stories affect the human mind and shed light on mental disorders caused by said stories, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is simply another horror film with yet another VFX-ed ghost.
It is clear that the sequel was an attempt to use the timeless horror-comedy of Priyadarshan to make big headlines and money. So far, it’s working. But Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) is definitely unworthy of its predecessor’s legacy, and there’s no question about that.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: 4/10 ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆