Ghost on the Dance Floor: Bhool Bhulaiya
When Bhool Bhulaiya first came around, it was evident that it would be a mad cap caper about something related to the occult. It was also evident that the movie would be a comedy, like other Priyadarshan movies. It also had Priyadarshan's staple actors, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, and more importantly, Akshay Kumar, at the forefront of the movie. Clearly, the movie would be a must watch, which I did.
A week before I went to watch the movie, there were generally negative reviews all around the media. I should say I was almost seduced into believing in them, because there are very few occult movies which actually are logical in their entirety.
Am happy to say, this one was.
This movie is faultless. Right from the first frame to the last frame. This is one movie which you will spend days and nights trying to find something wrong in the movie. Other than that, the very concept of the movie required special attention, which Priyadarshan has succeeded in doing, right from the beginning.
Some reviews have been very negative about the movie, with some people also saying that Priyadarshan fooling the viewer by keeping Akshay Kumar in the movie just before the interval. I do not see anything wrong in it. He came when the script asked him. This also proves that Priyadarshan respects creativity more than commericalism. Of course, he could have kept some comedy sequences with Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal or even Asrani in the beginning of the movie. But to quote many people I know in Pune, for what joy? Priyadarshan had a story to tell, and he knew that modern Indians suffer from a attention deficit. I am sure, if Akshay Kumar had come in the movie at an earlier stage, these same reviewers would have cried foul, accusing them of stuffing comedy sequences to run the movie. Strange.
Another critic of the movie is about the ending. People, if you have not seen the movie, and are wondering about what the ending of the movie actually is, let me tell you about what could be the endings in the movie:
- There is actually a ghost in the old house and that is destroyed by Akshay Kumar using some Baba Yaga tantric vidya.
- Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar both are after the treasure in the house and all this is a ruse for them to get it to it and run away (Please replace Vidya Balan with Amisha Patel and you get the third ending).
- Amisha Patel is a psychological case who has problems with her heartthrob falling for Vidya Balan.
According to me, the ending is what has raised the movie about all Bollywood movies I have ever seen. And the way Vidya Balan has acted in the last two reels of the movie is fantabulous. Of course, the make up artist would have taken extra help to morbidify such a beautiful face, but well... a job's a job dude, and the entire Bhool Bhulaiya troupe has done a good job this time.
