Bhooth Bangla follows Arjun Acharya (Akshay Kumar), his sister Meera (Mithila Palkar), and their father Dr. Vasudev Acharya (Jisshu Sengupta) as they set out to find a suitable destination for Meera’s wedding. Soon, they are informed by an unknown visitor that Meera is the legal heir to a massive 500 crore fortune along with a grand haveli. Arjun selects the haveli as the wedding destination and travels there to make arrangements, but what begins as an effort to get the haveli back in shape soon slips into a chaotic mix of horror and comedy as strange events unfold inside the mansion. What happens next forms the core of this nearly three-hour-long film.
The film reunites Akshay Kumar with Priyadarshan, a combination that has given audiences some of Bollywood’s most loved comedies in the past, including Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). However, this time the magic feels recycled rather than refreshed. The pre-interval portion does have a few moments that may make you smile, but the humour is loud, constantly trying to grab attention instead of flowing naturally. Much of it feels overly familiar, as if scenes and dialogue patterns have been lifted from earlier Priyadarshan films. Even the trailer had already hinted at this repetition, and unfortunately, the film continues in the same vein.
Akshay Kumar seems to be playing a version of his earlier self that audiences have seen before. The comic timing is still intact, but the character and performance feel dated. More importantly, the film does not acknowledge the actor’s age, which becomes quite noticeable, especially in his romantic track with Wamiqa Gabbi. That pairing feels forced and uncomfortable, adding little value to the story.
The usual Priyadarshan ensemble, including Paresh Rawal, who plays wedding planner Jagdish Kewalramani, his nephew Sunder (Rajpal Yadav), and Asrani as the haveli’s manager, fall back on their familiar comic styles. While these actors have delivered memorable performances in the past, here they seem to be repeating themselves without adapting to changing audience tastes. Their characters lack freshness, and even someone as dependable as Paresh Rawal ends up feeling underutilised. The few sequences involving Rajpal Yadav, in particular, come across as tacky and borderline vulgar, suggesting that not much effort has gone into writing genuinely sharp or layered humour.
Wamiqa Gabbi’s presence in the film is another weak link. Her character appears detached from the main narrative, showing up briefly in the beginning and towards the end, without any meaningful contribution to the story. It feels more like an obligation than a well-written role.
At its core, the film had a decent idea for a horror comedy, but the writing fails to develop it into a cohesive narrative. There are flaws in the script to such an extent that it feels like the writers simply thought of a few comic or horror sequences and stitched them together, without really bothering about the logic that should hold the story together. As a result, the events unfolding in and around the haveli often feel random and lack proper explanation. The film does not seem interested in tying things together in a satisfying way, and for viewers expecting coherence, this becomes a major drawback.
Inevitably, comparisons arise with films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, especially given the same actor-director combination. However, unlike that film, which balanced humour, music and thrill with a strong and memorable core, Bhooth Bangla does not have anything that truly stands out or lingers after the credits roll.
One of the most noticeable aspects is the casting. Apart from Wamiqa Gabbi and Mithila Palkar, most of the cast appears visibly dated, from Akshay Kumar to Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, and even Tabu in her brief appearance and song. This further adds to the sense that the casting was not done as per the script’s requirements, but rather to bring the nostalgic team together in a new setup.
In the end, Bhooth Bangla feels like a stretched-out, three-hour attempt to recreate the charm of past successes. Instead of reinventing the genre or even its own legacy, it comes across as a forced, meme-like extension of films we have already seen, without offering anything new in return. There is little here that demands a theatrical viewing, and for most viewers, there is no real reason to feel any FOMO. This is one that can comfortably be waited out until it eventually lands on Netflix.
Movie: Bhooth Bangla
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Featuring: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Manoj Joshi, Mithila Palkar, Asrani, Rajesh Sharma, Bhavna Pani, Zakir Hussain
Theatrical Release date: 17 April 2026
Run Time: 2hrs 54mins
Bhooth Bangla
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