By - Amit kumaR Agarwal
- This Akshay Kumar - Wamiqa Gabbi starrer has a brilliant 1st-half, with an average 2nd-half
Bhooth Bangla tells the story of a haunted palace. On the death of his grandfather, Arjun Acharya (Akshay Kumar) comes to take charge of the palace as willed by his grandfather in his ancestral town, Mangalpur. Arjun’s sister, Meera (Mithila Palkar), due to get married is zeroing in on a wedding venue and her partner, Rahul and she likes the palace.
The conflict is - Mangalpur doesn't see weddings because of the curse of Vadhusur - a folklore that says, the newly-married bride will be killed by the demon on the wedding night itself.
However, Arjun doesn’t believe in demons, ghosts and spirits. Contrary to all the warnings of the palace caretaker, Shantaram (Asrani); he calls wedding planner Jagdish (Paresh Rawal) to the village to plan a grand wedding.
In between he falls in love with Wamiqa Gabbi; she seems to know quite a bit about Vadhusur. Is she connected to Vadhusur?
The first half is brilliant with many comic moments - in fact, these moments are such that you fall off your chair laughing. particularly the Paresh Rawal commode sequence.
The second half where the horror element is introduced needed sharper writing - mainly because the writers have ignored the logics - rendering the narrative confusing
- A father whose son is under the spell of Vadhusur will kill the demon, rather than help the demon resurrect
- The Akshay - Tabu - Jissu track reminds one of Bhool Bhulaiya 2 track with Tabu
- Wamiqa Gabbi's character that starts on such a high, is totally ignored in the second half
These are glaring glitches that make the second half unconvincing. Writers ought to have sharpen their pen.
Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav are first-rate as the principal cast. Tabu and Wamiqa Gabbi are aptly cast as the leading ladies. Supporting cast that includes Asrani, Rajesh Sharma, etc. provides good support.
Priyadarshan's direction is good, but writing puts him down in the second half and the climax.
Overall, the film had all the makings of a blockbuster - but the second half will reduce it's BO potential to an average fare. Though if you are big time into comedies, you will love the first half!