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Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
The Bhootnii movie review: 0 star review; this film lacks plot, production value, sense and sensibility
Within a few minutes of the film's opening, I asked myself: what am I doing here? Two hours, ten minutes, and what seems like a lifetime of groaning-and-moaning later, I have zero answers to that one. Horror comedies may be the flavour of the season after the 'Stree' jamboree, but even its part 2 was nowhere close to the delightful original. In this new film, we get a 'The', emphasising that this is not your random garden variety of bhootni, but a very specific one, with a double i to boot. Ergo, this one will stand apart. Which it does. It proudly and flagrantly stands apart from any vestiges of plot and production values, forget about sense and sensibility. There's a college called St Vincent's in Delhi, in which stands the Virgin Tree, around which love-struck students moon. This so-called college, which looks like a badly-constructed set, has scores of so-called students, of which our trio — Shantanu (Sunny Singh), Sahil (Nickunj Sharma), and Nasser (Aasif Shaikh) — is busy staving off needy spirits with the help of a black hoodie-clad ghostbuster called Baba (Sanjay Dutt), who quotes solemnly from the Gita about the 'aatma' being 'ajar and amar'. He also says, 'yeh chudail nahin, adhoori khwaish hai'. ALSO READ | Ibrahim Ali Khan's animated conversation with Palak Tiwari's half-brother during The Bhootnii screening fuels dating rumours. Watch Nope, I am not making any of this up. Then there's our Bhootni-in-chief, who goes by the name of Mohabbat (Mouni Roy). She has a tragic back-story, and emerald green eyes. She likes yanking 'scardey-cat' (this is an actual English subtitle from the movie, I swear) boys into the skies, and asking them, 'tumhari hobbies kya hain'? Can't see a broomstick, but anything is possible, right? There's loads of disjointed chatter about science and religion (vigyaan aur dharm), Valentine's Day and Holika Dahan, and oh, do not miss this woke stroke, 'koi Hindu Muslim ka time hai yeh'. Hear hear. It takes a film which is not even a film, just some scattered, stray ideas masquerading as one, to come up with that one. At one point the Bhootnii bats her lashes and says, I am not alive. Nor am I, dear reader, nor am I.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The Bhootnii movie review: Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh serve us a horror comedy neither too funny nor scary
You know what hurts a little? When you see that spark in a film, it definitely had the potential to be much more. The Bhootnii, starring Sanjay Dutt as a ghost hunter, along with Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari, Mouni Roy in the leading roles- is one of them. It revolves around the annual Virgin Tree pooja (held at Hindu College in Delhi, but a fictional one on screen). Legend goes that whoever prays to the tree on Valentine's Day every year gets their 'mohabbat'. Shantanu (Sunny), a heartbroken man whose girlfriend leaves him, is anguished and wishes for love. And in comes Mohabbat- literally, in the form of a ghost by the same name (Mouni). The Bhootnii, written and directed by Sidhaant Sachdev, has a bit of every horror comedy you have seen. It especially borrows a lot from the Stree franchise- an angry ghost, a group of friends, with funny one-liners sprinkled throughout. The makers don't miss the chance to give a nod to Naagin, which is Mouni's calling card. Before we say it out loud, they do it themselves via this one-liner by one of the sidekicks, 'Aisa lag raha hai Naagin serial ki shooting live dekh ke aa raha hoon!' Where The Bhootnii triumphs is by going all out on the fantasy bit. There's absolutely nothing believable about the world of this film. The lighthearted tone suits Sanjay's character, called Baba, who gets to use his comic timing well. Complimenting him are Nickunj Sharma and Aasif Khan. Together, the trio leads contributes genuine laughs. Where this film falters is in the action sequences, which feel dragged. Right from Sanjay's entry to when Mouni's character wreaks havoc in the climax, there's so much happening that the smartphone on us comes as a saviour. The Bhootnii takes its sweet time finding its groove, with a patchy first half, and that could be a test of patience for some. Some dialogues, meant to be funny, also fall flat so the humour feels forced. In the performance department, Sunny overdoes it in some emotional sequences, but he handles the role well otherwise. Palak has a good presence on screen. Mouni has ample experience in such roles and fares well. Sanjay reserves the maximum chuckles for his character and his quirks. Overall, The Bhootnii isn't as scary or funny as the title suggests. It's somewhere in between, and could work as a one-time watch when you have absolutely nothing else to do.
India Today
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
The Bhootnii review: A virgin tree, love curse, and lot of nonsense
In an age of modern dating, where young people are busy 'ghosting' each other, here arrives a bhootni in love with a mortal. While this obsession could have been the premise for either an emotional drama or a laugh riot, the Sunny Singh-led 'The Bhootnii' fails to do either. Also starring Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, and Palak Tiwari, the film instead ends up as an unfunny, two-hour-long Siddhant Sachdev-directed film revolves (quite literally) around the 'Virgin Tree' - a magical tree that helps people find sacchi mohabbat, or true love. A heartbroken Shantanu (Sunny Singh) pleads with the tree to find his soulmate, only to stumble into the curse of a love-lorn soul. What follows is a half-hearted attempt at love, comedy, horror, and first half gives you nothing to latch onto, with a wafer-thin plot and subdued performances. While the makers try to add all sorts of tadka in the latter half, the damage is too severe to be salvaged. The jokes feel forced, the romance lacks chemistry, and the horror fails to even startle. It's also a stark reminder that not every horror-comedy can be a Stree, and filmmakers need to stop abusing the genre. advertisementNot much can be said about the performances, even though Sanjay Dutt as Baba adds some swag to the otherwise dull script. However, the star has very little to do other than strut around in a Krrish-like costume as the ghostbuster shooting down good and bad aatmas (spirits). Sunny Singh tries hard but falls short, while the two female leads - Mouni Roy and Palak Tiwari - are dismissive in their acts. With multiple films up for release, The Bhootnii will definitely face tough competition, though the extra holiday today in most cities could give it the much-needed push.2 out of 5 stars to The Bhootnii.
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First Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
The Bhootnii movie review: Sanjay Dutt & Mouni Roy anchor this spooky laugh-fest with Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari
The Bhootnii works well because of its narrative and novelty read more Star cast: Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Singh, Mouni Roy, Palak Tiwari, Nickunj Sharma (BeYouNick), Aasif Khan Director: Sidhaant Sachdev In recent years, the horror-comedy genre has worked wonders at the box office. After films like Stree, Munjya and Stree 2, Sanjay Dutt has arrived as a ghost hunter in Sidhaant Sachdev's The Bhootnii. While the promotional material has managed to garner buzz among the audience, does it turn out to be an entertaining affair? Let's find out… STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The narration of the movie starts at Vincent College situated in Delhi, where students and other people worship the 'Virgin Tree' on Valentine's Day in their premise by keeping photos of their partners as they believe, this will make them reach their true love. Shantanu (Sunny Singh) is devastated as his girlfriend dumped him for a rich boy on Valentine's Day and in the night he is drunk and agitated and starts cursing the 'Virgin Tree'. However, due to rain, he slips and reaches another tree, behind the Virgin one, and it is deserted and haunted by a soul named Mohabbat (Mouni Roy). Thinking he is still in front of the 'Virgin Tree', Shantanu asks for true love from the abandoned tree and the haunted soul Mohabbat now takes human form to be with Shantanu. There is also a mysterious thing happening in the college as 4 students in years have attempted suicide on Valentine's Day and died on Chhoti Holi, with the latest one being in 2025. To observe and analyse the scenario, the college appoints its alumni aka Krishna Tripathi (Sanjay Dutt), the ghost hunter. As Shantanu and Krishna find that Mohabbat is actually a soul, they now want to find the backstory about Mohabbat and her incomplete wish. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite being a horror-comedy, The Bhootnii has a subtle emotional backstory which strikes a chord with the audience. The dialogues including some of the meta jokes thus make you laugh at regular intervals. Talking about the performances, Sanjay Dutt oozes swag with his persona as the ghost hunter while Mouni's charismatic screen presence makes a place in your heart. Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari put their best foot forward as their relationship will find relevance among the current generation. On the other hand, Nickunj Sharma (BeYouNick) and Aasif Khan's camaraderie reminds you of your good old college days with your friends. On the whole, The Bhootnii works well because of its narrative and novelty. Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars) The Bhootnii is playing in cinemas
