Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Bhool Bhulaiyaa (transl. Maze) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language horror comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the T-Series Films banner. A remake of the 1993 Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu starring Mohanlal,[3] the film stars Akshay Kumar Ameesha Patel, Shiney Ahuja, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav and Vikram Gokhale. The film score and soundtrack of the film were composed by Ranjit Barot and Pritam respectively, and the lyrics were written predominantly by Sameer, while Sayeed Quadri wrote one song.
Bhool Bhulaiya | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Priyadarshan |
Written by | Screenplay: Neeraj Vora Dialogues: Manisha Korde Yashwant Mahilwar |
Story by | Madhu Muttam |
Based on | Manichitrathazhu by Fazil |
Produced by | Bhushan Kumar Krishan Kumar |
Starring | Akshay Kumar Ameesha Patel Vidya Balan Shiney Ahuja Paresh Rawal Manoj Joshi Asrani Rajpal Yadav Vikram Gokhale Vineeth Rasika Joshi |
Cinematography | Tirru |
Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan Arun Kumar Aravind |
Music by | Pritam |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Balaji Motion Pictures (India) Eros International (International) Y.K.M. Brother Production House (International) |
Release date |
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Running time | 154 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹32 crore[1] |
Box office | ₹83 crore[2] |
The film received critical acclaim and was also a huge commercial success.
Plot
Badrinarayan "Badri" Chaturvedi (Manoj Joshi) heads a Brahmin family whose ancestral palace in Rajasthan is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Manjulika, a classical dancer from Bengal. Siddharth Narayan Chaturvedi (Shiney Ahuja) and his archeologist wife Avni Chaturvedi (Vidya Balan), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's elder brother return to their native village from the United States and decide to stay in their ancestral palace. This leads to Siddharth's childhood love interest Radha (Ameesha Patel), who is Badri's adopted daughter, feeling heartbroken but she immediately recovers. Siddharth is crowned as the king, his right to the throne.
The palace where Siddharth were staying was once occupied by Raja Vibhuti Narayan, Siddharth's ancestor. According to legend, he had developed an infatuation for Manjulika, a beauty hailing from Bengal and an exceptional dancer in his court, who in turn was in love with Shashidhar, another dancer, who resided in a house just behind the palace and often met her secretly. On the night of Durgashtami, when the king got to know of their affair and their plan to elope, he called them to perform a dance one last time in the court. When Shashidhar bowed in the end, the king beheaded him and imprisoned Manjulika in her room. On the day of the king's marriage, Manjulika hanged herself and swore that her spirit would not allow any king to live in that palace. Various omens started taking place after that, presuming that the evil eye may have befallen the kingdom. Vibhuti Narayan too died soon afterwards under unknown circumstances. Soon, with the aid of powerful sorcerers, both Shashidhar's and Manjulika's spirits were locked up in a room on the third floor of the palace using a sacred talisman.
Avni falls in love with the palace and learns about Manjulika and her tragic story. Events take a twist when Avni, keenly interested in the story and the treasure and jewelry allegedly hidden in that room, obtains a copy of the third-floor room key and opens the forbidden locked room that supposedly contains the ghost of Manjulika. Unnatural events once again start taking place inside the palace. Murari (Asrani) and Batuk Shankar (Paresh Rawal) try to ward off the evil eye with the help of a priest, Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti (Vikram Gokhale), but unfortunately the priest has gone to London and is unsure when he might return.
Siddharth starts suspecting Radha for all the strange occurrences. He thinks she has gone crazy since he was supposed to marry her but married Avni instead. He calls his friend, psychiatrist Dr. Aditya Shrivastava (Akshay Kumar) from New York, to try to figure out what the problem is with Radha. Once Aditya reaches the palace, things become comical, as everyone thinks he is a fool, though he is very intelligent and a successful doctor. Eventually, Aditya falls in love with Radha. One night, Aditya hears Manjulika's ghungroo and the sounds of her Bengali song coming from the third floor. He goes and knocks at the door, but sees no one. Next morning, he asks Avni to take him to the third floor. She shows him the place, even Manjulika's room, and her belongings. Aditya studies the matter closely and prepares for the night. That night he encounters Manjulika, and talks to her behind a locked door, pretending to be the cruel Raja, and dares her to strike. The ghost angrily vows to take her revenge on the auspicious day of Durgashtami.
During the engagement of Siddharth's cousin Nandini to one Sharad Pradhan (Vineeth), Avni accidentally spills Haldi on Sharad and takes him away to get him cleaned. When Aditya and Siddharth search for her, they see that there is a struggle between Avni and Sharad, and quickly intervene. Siddharth thinks that Sharad was assaulting Avni, but Aditya tells him that Avni is the real culprit, not Radha as previously suspected. It is revealed that Avni has dissociative identity disorder, a mental disorder that affects the person's identity, making them think they are someone else. Sometimes, Avni tends to forget her own self and becomes Manjulika. Aditya explains that Avni has been responsible for all the strange events happening around the palace. He reveals that he visited Avni's hometown to gather information about her childhood and has factual evidence. He informs them that she believes Siddharth is the evil king whom she wants to kill and Sharad is her beloved Shashidhar because he currently resides in the same house that Shashidhar used to live in.
He tells a half-convinced Siddharth to provoke Avni by refusing her from going out. As he does, soon Avni loses her temper and shows him the dark personality of Manjulika. But she returns to normal quickly, much to her husband's shock and dismay. Later, Siddharth begs Aditya to cure Avni.
During Durgashtami, Aditya and Siddharth along with Sharad see Avni assume Manjulika's identity, dressed as her and dancing to the tunes Manjulika had been dancing to with Shashidhar before the king murdered him. The tragic love triangle of the old king Vibhuti Narayan who wanted Manjulika for himself, and Manjulika and Shashidhar's love story is revealed. Avni imagines herself as Manjulika and Sharad as Shashidhar, dancing in the court of the king. Avni completely assumes the identity of Manjulika and tries to kill her own husband Siddharth; she sees him as the king who had killed Manjulika's lover.
Seeking to cure Avni, Aditya triggers Manjulika's personality and makes her promise to leave Avni if she gets the opportunity to kill the king and take her revenge. The priest Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti arrives and with his help, during the ritual of Durgashtami, Aditya lays out an intricate plan to trick Manjulika into thinking she is killing the king (Siddharth) when she is actually slaying a dummy. After the orchestrated murder, Manjulika, now content, leaves Avni forever. Avni is rid of dissociative identity disorder and everything ends well. The family members, now very pleased with Aditya, thank him for all his help, saving two lives.
Aditya tells Radha, to whom he has taken a liking , that he will send his parents over if she is interested in marrying him, to which a happy Radha gives her silent consent.
Cast
Cast | Role |
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Akshay Kumar | Dr. Aditya "Adi" Shrivastav |
Vidya Balan | Avni Chaturvedi / Manjulika |
Shiney Ahuja | Siddharth Chaturvedi / Raja Vibhuti Narayan |
Ameesha Patel | Radha Chaturvedi |
Paresh Rawal | Batukshankar Upadhyay |
Manoj Joshi | Badrinarayan "Badri" Chaturvedi |
Rajpal Yadav | Chhote Pandit |
Asrani | Murari |
Vikram Gokhale | Acharya Yagyaprakash Bharti |
Rasika Joshi | Janki Chaturvedi |
Tarina Patel | Nandini Chaturvedi |
Vineeth | Professor Sharad Pradhan / Shashidhar |
Kaveri Jha | Girja Chaturvedi |
Jimit Trivedi | Chandu Chaturvedi |
Production
Casting
Originally, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif were the first female choices for Bhool Bhulaiyaa. They turned down the offer due to working load, and were replaced by Vidya Balan and Ameesha Patel, respectively.[4] Vidya Balan had to take Odissi lessons for this film.
Music
Score
The film score was composed and produced by Ranjit Barot.
Songs
Bhool Bhulaiyaa | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 12 July 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Length | 56:00 | |||
Label | T-Series | |||
Producer | Pritam | |||
Pritam chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Bollywood Hungama | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rediff | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The songs featured in the film composed by Pritam, were released in July 2007. The title song, commonly known as "Hare Ram Hare Krishna Hare Ram", sung by Neeraj Shridhar, was one of the biggest hits of the year starring Akshay Kumar. [5] According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 12,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's eighth highest-selling.[6]
The title song "Bhool Bhulaiya" is lifted from Korean band JtL's song 'My Lecon'.[7] Songs "Allah Hafiz", "Laboh Ko" and "Ami je tomar/Mere Dholna" become other chartbusters of the year.
All lyrics are written by Sameer and Sayeed Quadri.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singers | Length |
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1. | "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" | Sameer | Neeraj Shridhar | 05:12 |
2. | "Labon Ko Labon Pe" | Sayeed Quadri | K.K. | 05:44 |
3. | "Pyaar Ka Sajda" | Sameer | K.K. | 05:12 |
4. | "Ami Je Tomar/Mere Dholna Sun" | Sameer | Shreya Ghoshal, M. G. Sreekumar | 06:47 |
5. | "Let's Rock Soniye" | Sameer | Shaan, Tulsi Kumar | 04:27 |
6. | "Sakiya Re Sakiya" | Sameer | Tulsi Kumar | 04:57 |
7. | "Bhool Bhulaiyaa – Remix" | Sameer | Neeraj Shridhar and Dj A-Myth | 05:07 |
8. | "Allah Hafiz Keh Raha" | Sameer | K.K. | 04:34 |
9. | "Let's Rock Soniye – Remix" | Sameer | Shaan, Tulsi Kumar and Pritam | 04:28 |
10. | "Pyaar Ka Sajda – Remix" | Sameer | K.K. and DJ Suketu (Arranged by AKS) | 05:22 |
11. | "Labon Ko Labon Pe – Remix" | Sayeed Quadri | K.K., DJ Kiran, DJ G and Earl | 05:17 |
Total length: | 52:65 |
Box office
Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a commercial success, netting ₹497 million (US$6.5 million) in India. It was the 6th-highest-grossing-Bollywood movie of 2007. [8]
The total overseas gross was $3,910,000. The lifetime overseas breakup was $1,380,000 in UK, $1,130,000 in North America, $820,000 in UAE, $151,000 in Australia and $429,000 in other markets.[9]
The film collected ₹1.55 billion (US$20 million) worldwide.[10]
Awards
Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Results |
---|---|---|---|
International Indian Film Academy Awards | Best Director | Priyadarshan | Nominated |
Best Actor | Akshay Kumar | ||
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | ||
Best Villain | |||
Best Comedian | Paresh Rawal & Rajpal Yadav | ||
Best Music Director | Pritam | ||
Best Male Playback Singer | Neeraj Shridhar for "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" | ||
Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal for "Mere Dholna Sun (Ami Je Tomar)" | ||
Filmfare Awards | Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Nominated |
Zee Cine Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
Sequel
A standalone sequel starring, Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu named Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is scheduled to be released on 20 May 2022.[11] The sequel is proper ghost story, unlike the first part which was a psychological thriller.
References
- "Bhool Bhulaiyaa - Movie - Box Office India".
- "Bhool Bhulaiyaa - Movie - Box Office India".
- "indiafm.com". Shooting in Australia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
- "indiafm.com". Vidya replace Aishwarya. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
- "Bhool Bhulaiyaa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Pritam on Apple Music". iTunes. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- "Music Hits 2000–2009 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 24 June 2010.
- "Bollywood Songs Copied". 19 August 2014.
- "Box Office 2007". Box Office India. 4 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- "Top Lifetime Grossers OVERSEAS (US $)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013.
- "Top Lifetime Grossers Worldwide (IND Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
- "Anees Bazmee reveals some interesting facts about 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2021.