The Bhootnii movie review: Sanjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh serve us a horror comedy neither too funny nor scary

Hindustan Times

01-05-2025

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.