Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 reminds Bollywood about the main purpose behind a mainstream film - entertainment, entertainment, entertainment!

The last weekend was a huge relief for the Hindi film industry with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 taking off on a strong note at the box office and crowds thronging in great numbers to watch it across the globe. The Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, Tabu-starrer will be best remembered for reviving Hindi cinema's fortunes this year, but is a result of a well-written script, aptly chosen leads and a smart business idea to integrate it with a horror-comedy franchise. No unnecessary preaching, social commentary or any rocket science - the makers just respected that audiences come to the theatre for one main reason, entertainment. 

Many have tried to drive a wedge between Bollywood and the South Indian film industries about the non-performance of Hindi films in 2022 and the success of films like RRR, Pushpa, KGF2 et al. What the Hindi filmmakers need is a mirror and rethink who's the target audience for their films. Gone are the days of Vicky Donor when you use humour as a vehicle to discuss a social issue; even Ayushmann failed at his own game with Chandigarh Gare Aashiqui. Recent films like Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Badhaai Do too struggled for the same reason - why do you need a film to discuss an issue when an advertisement would've done a better job at it?

Meanwhile, the likes of Runway34 and Attack were a mishmash of a handful of Hollywood films, with very little in the stories to resonate with an average Indian viewer. Impressive filmmaking, decent performances apart, did it have a larger purpose? The Kashmir Files can be conveniently dismissed as a propaganda film, though it brought to light an issue that no major filmmaker (excepting Vidhu Vinod Chopra) has bothered to discuss in recent years. The film, despite its problems, became the voice of a community and they ended up owning the film. Remember Pallavi Joshi, Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty were the most well-known faces in it and yet it struck a chord where it mattered.

In the case of Jersey, despite being a well-made film, the makers had to suffer with the Telugu version being readily available on OTT, and the Hindi dubbed version streaming on YouTube (and were widely watched during lockdown). Of course, the struggle of competing with a more accessible, commercial film like KGF2, added salt to their wound. Another remake (of the Tamil film Jigarthanda), Bachchan Pandey, was so unimaginative and formulaic in its execution that even Akshay Kumar couldn't give it a push with his presence. It took a good-old Anees Bazmee and a no-holds-barred entertaining horror-comedy script to remind Bollywood about its basics.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 has a story bathed in familiarity - the cliches and tropes of a horror-comedy are very much in place but with a refreshing twist and charming dialogue. When was the last time the services of Rajpal Yadav and Sanjay Mishra were utilised so well in a commercial film? In Tabu, the film has a powerhouse performer to lend weight to the dramatic backstory and an assured, in-form Kartik Aaryan to shoulder the light-hearted segments. Kartik, in particular, speaks the common man's lingo sans filter or sophistication and is a natural choice to inherit the brand of humour unique to an Akshay Kumar. The presence of a Kiara Advani, despite her mettle not being tested, is the icing on the cake.

Anees Bazmee's strength is the firm conviction in his treatment - he truly believes in the masala moments and knows to pull the strings when the proceedings appear to take a silly turn. A haunted mansion, black magic, a story of a neglected twin sister, exorcism, romance and a few occasional jumpscares -this had it all. While the script is solid, the advantage of being promoted as a sequel to Bhool Bhulaiyaa was an undeniable crowd-pulling factor in the lead up to its release. Will this be the beginning of many more good things to come for Bollywood this year? One genuinely hopes.