The Bhootnii Review: Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Palak Tiwari-led horror-comedy is yet another formulaic film that falls flat on its face

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Shantanu (Sunny Singh) is a college student who’s heartbroken and yearns for genuine love. On Valentine’s Day, he weeps and contemplates suicide near a mystical tree called the “Virgin Tree,” said to grant true affection. From that moment, his life takes on a strange and unsettling course.

In another instance, a student at a college contemplates suicide, which seems connected to an eerie entity. The idea that this is more than just a coincidence gains traction as such events have happened on campus before. It’s under these circumstances that the college administration decides to consult a paranormal specialist, Baba (played by Sanjay Dutt), who happens to be a former student of the very same college.

Will Baba be able to solve the mystery?

What works in favor of The Bhootnii?

One favorite genre in Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, is the blend of horror and comedy (Horror-comedy). To amp up the entertainment factor even more, sprinkle in some witty self-references within your film – audiences will surely appreciate it. However, is this alone enough to make a truly impactful movie? Let’s delve further into the review to examine that aspect.

What doesn’t work for The Bhootnii?

The movie puts in significant effort to captivate viewers, yet surprisingly, it manages to make them progressively less engaged with each successive scene. In addition to the questionable plotline, the script appears scattered and disorganized. It appears that screenwriters Sidhaant Sachdev and Vankush Arora were overly focused on incorporating meta references, leading to a hasty completion of the screenplay writing process. The outcome was nothing more than an amalgamation of weakly linked, underdeveloped scenes.

Initially, the movie doesn’t have a single amusing scene in its first half, but there’s some improvement in the second part. Yet, this doesn’t enhance the overall appeal of the film. The background music is humorous, reminiscent of clips from Instagram reels. Some clever dialogue with meta references are nicely written, but due to the movie’s overall dullness, they fail to elicit laughter. The music unfortunately emphasizes the film’s flaws instead.

Watch The Bhootnii Trailer

Performances & Direction

Sanjay Dutt delivers a standard acting job without any standout moments. Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari, Mouni Roy, and newcomer Nick (who’s famous as Beyounick on social media) all do an acceptable job. Aasif Khan displays promising acting skills, but they go largely unrealized.

In his directorial role, Sidhaant Sachdev seems to have missed the mark when it comes to the horror-comedy genre. Instead of striking a balance between humor and horror, he heavily relies on jokes and special effects, areas where the film disappointingly falls short. After leaving the theater, you can’t help but ponder over what could have made the movie much more satisfying.

Final Verdict of The Bhootnii 

The Bhootnii demonstrates that movie-making isn’t always a matter of following set patterns. Even though horror-comedies have been successful, this doesn’t mean every production should cater to the same formula.

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2025-05-01 08:22