Bhoot Police review: It's 'safe' to call the film a Saif Ali Khan show!

3/5

Two brothers (Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor) live their lives by fighting their share of ghosts. However, a new case given to them by Yami Gautam's character forces them to rethink their own abilities and beliefs.

Sports biopics and remakes of South Indian films are overdone in Bollywood now. Another genre that is being explored a lot is horror-comedy and the scope of stories have now lessened a lot. But Bhoot Police has given a new angle to this genre by introducing mainstream actors to play ghostbusters. It's not a challenging role as such but definitely interesting given the attire and the dialect Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor opted for in this film.

It's 'safe' to say, Saif is the show stealer from the word 'go'. The actor oozed into the character of Vibhooti and with his trademark quirks, he even made the jokes funnier than they otherwise would have been. However, talking about the content, it cannot be entirely put in the category of brainless comedy because there are scary moments that will shock you but leave you in splits at the same time.

In Bhoot Police, the ghost is a Kichkandi which is based on Nepalese folklore. She is introduced to ghostbusters Vibhuti (Saif) and his younger brother Chiraunji (Arjun Kapoor) by Yami Gautam's character Maya. She feels that the spirit is back in the tea estate where she stays with her sister Kanika (Jacqueline Fernandez) after these brothers' father captured her.

In a runtime of 128 minutes, the film keeps the essence of horror-comedy intact without any social message getting into it. The backstory of the Kichkandi is also not that important and it will leave you puzzled. Although the story leading to it has emotional baggage when it comes to a horror flick, it's always 'no questions asked'.

Maybe that's what clicked with Bhoot Police, as the makers made it an out and out horror-comedy by adding scary elements blended with funny sequences.

From dialogues on nepotism to imitating 'go corona go' as 'go Kichkandi go' and many more are what one can call up-to-date jokes that are too funny for words.

Director Pavan Kirpalani whose forte is the horror genre with the likes of Ragini MMS, Phobia, Darr @ The Mall to his credit, has forayed into the horror-comedy genre for the first time. That's the reason he knows his craft and made sure the spooky elements don't look fake. The director also ensured that there is no shoddy CGI work and it could look as real as the make-believe story seems to be.

Coming to performances, from Saif's show-stealer act to Jacqueline's negligible appearance, Yami and Arjun make an effort to leave an impressive mark. Although, Arjun's efforts are visible and the actor as the seedha-saadha but determined brother tries his level best to be the cheese to the chalk Saif.

Saif has often experimented with his looks in the films he’s been a part of. He has time and again proved his versatility as an actor and Bhoot Police is the latest addition to it. The actor has come a long way, going from being a supporting actor in an ensemble cast but still stealing the show. Here, being in the leading role, there's no doubt in saying that Saif has once again managed to grab all the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Arjun has tried his hand in many genres but his acting abilities have always been questioned by many. In Bhoot Police, the actor easily gets into his character as it expected him to be the more serious one and an upright sibling to Saif's character.

We have seen Yami nailing the intense roles in several movies. But in Bhoot Police despite not tickling any funnybones, the actor does her part in bringing seriousness to the movie. We cannot call it her best performance as Yami has shown her acting prowess in many other films previously but she manages to leave a mark as opposed to Jacqueline who has little to offer.

Fernandez is completely forgettable and a misfit in the film. Despite trying to be a catalyst, her character doesn't make much effect in taking the story forward.

It's not necessary to have comic stars be a part of horror-comedy to increase the ‘funny’ quotient of the film. Sometimes it works, otherwise, it doesn't. Having Jaaved Jaaferi and Rajpal Yadav in Bhoot Police did the latter but didn’t bring much to the table. Late actor Amit Mistry, however, got a little more screen time to show his acting prowess one last time to the masses.

In Bhoot Police, some chilling moments make it effective in a theatre-viewing experience, but yes, it's no Stree that redefined the horror-comedy genre in Bollywood after many years. The camera-work is also not shabby but editing could have been crispier.

A special thanks to the makers for not including any song in the film making it a smoother watch without any hindrance.

I can repeatedly say that it's a Saif Ali Khan show all the way in Bhoot Police making the film funnier, quirkier and even edgier in some parts.

From Netflix, Amazon Prime to now Disney+ Hotstar, Saif Ali Khan has once again proved that OTTs and him make for a deadly combination, indeed!