The Story

A Wedding, a Palace, and Something Very Wrong in the Walls

Sixteen years after their legendary run together, Akshay Kumar and director Priyadarshan reunite with Bhooth Bangla — officially translated as “Haunted Mansion.” The premise is deceptively familiar: Arjun (Akshay Kumar) returns to India from London, inheriting a grand ancestral palace in the fictional town of Mangalpur, and decides it would make the perfect venue for his sister’s wedding.

Naturally, the house has other ideas. Doors creak on their own. Shadows don’t quite behave. And buried beneath the palace’s crumbling grandeur lies a dark secret tied to black magic, ancient Vedic mythology, and a demonic entity with unfinished business. The investigation that follows pulls Arjun — and the audience — into a world of curses, rituals, and increasingly frantic slapstick.

The Haunting

When It Works, It’s a Genuine Laugh

The film’s undeniable asset is Akshay Kumar. His rubber-limbed physical comedy, expressive reactions, and instinctive timing carry the film through stretches that would otherwise flatline. There are genuine laugh-out-loud moments in the first half — particularly whenever he bounces off Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, who are both reliably funny in their respective roles.

Tabu, always magnetic, brings a layer of enigmatic depth to her role that elevates the film’s more atmospheric sequences. Wamiqa Gabbi holds her own with charm and screen presence. The production design deserves credit too — the Mangalpur palace is genuinely evocative, dripping with cobwebs, cracked archways, and long dark corridors that Priyadarshan lights with visible craft.

Pritam’s score has its moments, and the song “Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge” carries an infectious old-world energy. Arijit Singh’s contribution to “Tu Hi Disda” also stands out as a rare quiet, emotionally resonant beat in an otherwise noisy film.

The Cracks

Where the Mansion’s Walls Give Way

The second half is where Bhooth Bangla begins to collapse under its own weight. The horror sequences — meant to be the film’s spine — fall strangely flat. There is no genuine dread here; the supernatural feels decorative rather than menacing. A good horror comedy needs to make you laugh and at least occasionally make your skin prickle. This one manages only the former, and inconsistently at that.

The screenplay is the film’s deepest wound. At 174 minutes, it overstays its welcome by a considerable margin. The climax arrives like a tired house guest who refuses to leave — predictable, overlong, and missing the emotional payoff that the setup deserved. The editing by Aiyappan Nair needed a sharper hand, particularly in a second half that loses momentum just when it should be accelerating.

NDTV’s critic noted the film feels like “a dilapidated story structure that can’t stand on its own, even on the foundation of nostalgia” — a pointed observation. The Indian Express awarded it 1.5 stars, and while that feels slightly harsh given Akshay’s genuine charm, the criticism is not without foundation.

The Verdict

Hit or Miss? Both, Somehow.

Our Take

Should You Watch It in Theatres?

If you are a die-hard Akshay Kumar fan, a devotee of the Priyadarshan school of ensemble slapstick, or someone who simply wants a breezy big-screen outing with the family, Bhooth Bangla offers just enough to justify the ticket. The first half is warm and fun; the palace is gorgeous; and there are performances that genuinely delight.

But if you go in expecting the sharp, layered chaos of Bhool Bhulaiyaa — the film this is clearly modelled after — you may leave a little cold. The ghost of a better film haunts every frame of this one, which is perhaps its cruellest irony.

Bottom Line: A generous matinee watch, not a midnight must-see.