Bhooth Bangla trailer launch: Who’s afraid of ghastly, ghostly, comedy, fantasy?
Bhooth Bangla trailer launch: Who’s afraid of ghastly, ghostly, comedy, fantasy?
Okay, so the majority of the audience at PVR Icon Multiplex, Auditorium 4, Andheri Mumbai, did not raise their hands when asked whether they believed in ghosts. No bother, because most of them do believe in ghostly comedies, as has been proven in several films in the last two decades. Now, the producer who, usually, does not attend teaser or trailer releases, unless the film in question does not have big names to prop it up; the actor who gets up at 4 am to go jogging; the actor, who, as a rule, does not attend teaser and trailer launches, for his own reasons; and the film-maker who stops all shooting at 7.30 pm because that is his time for Pooja (worship) have teamed up to blend horror, comedy and fantasy in one bundle, and are calling it Bhooth Bangla (Haunted Bungalow).
Some 61 years ago, actor Mahmood and his family produced their second film, with Mahmood in the lead, opposite Tanuja, and called it Bhoot Bangla. This spelling is more accurate than the extra h added to Bhooth in the 2026 venture. Down South, th is pronounced like the soft t in Hindustani, while just t is read as the harsh t. So, maybe the moniker is of Southern origin. The B&W, 1965 vehicle was a moderate hit, with its main attractions being the music of Rahul Dev Burman, whose plagiarised composition ‘Aao twist karen’, became a rage, and the surprise revelation of the villain as none other than poet-laureate turned actor, Harendranath Chattopadhyaya, brother of Sarojini Naidu, a national figure in the politics of her time. It also had a cameo by the composer, RDB, himself
Oh! You are wondering who the woman-producer I referred to is? She goes by the name of Ektaa R. Kapoor, where the R stands for Ravi, the real name of her Papa, actor Jeetendra. No prizes for guessing that the actor who gets up at 4 am is Akshay Kumar. But yes, if you guessed that the that the actor who never attends teaser and trailer launches, as a rule, is Paresh Rawal, the film-maker who stops shooting and turns to prayer, after 7.30 pm, is director Priyadarshan, your IQ needs to be ‘worshipped’. All three were present on the occasion, as were actors Wamiqa Gabbi, Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, Mithila Palkar and Rajesh Sharma. That’s quite a handful for photo ops. Also in the cast are Asrani, Manoj Joshi and Jishu Sengupta (it is he in the picture, with Akshay, right at the top).
So, who is the villain in the 2026 Bhooth Bangla? Rather, is there a villain in Bhooth Bangla, at all? There were villain-looking, or, more accurately, ghost-looking, a hundred-odd ‘fans’, not villains, with facial skull masks, in black and white, who chanted “Akshay, Akshay,” and blew whistles on cue, many a time. Then, there were the two ‘ghosts’, one female and one male, Shailesh and Rupa, who appeared in the cubicle placed near the stage, in complete bhoot get-up and make-up, who tried to scare the audience. Akshay indulged in banter with the male ghost, saying that he had to die because he was ogling at a woman who was having a bath. Tabu continued in the same vein, and told the ghost that she was Anjulika and not Manjulika, a clear reference to the tri-partite horror comedy franchise, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, only the first of which was directed by Priyadarshan, in 2007. Tabu played a double role in the film, cast as twin sisters.
Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan re-unite in Bhooth Bangla after 16 years. They last worked together in the 2010 film, Khatta Meetha, co-produced by Akshay’s wife, and daughter of superstar Rajesh Khanna, Twinkle. It was their sixth outing, since Hera Pheri (2000). This time, Akshay himself is a co-producer, along with Ektaa’s mother, Shobha Kapoor. Tabu is a regular with Priyadarshan, having previously done films like Kaalapani, Virasat (both 1996), Hera Pheri and Snegithiye. Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav are almost de rigueur in zany comedies. Paresh said that it is the situation that creates the comedy, not the actor. Rajpal declared that Priyadarshan is his most favourite director, because he is so clam and composed, and does not expect an actor to go deep into characterisation. Instead, he tells the actors to just speak the lines with the sentiments they carry.
Akshay took control of the proceedings from compère Nitin, and ran the show as if he was the master of all he surveyed, putting some unwelcome questioners and murmurers in their place. He was magnanimous enough to allow as many as 15-16 questions, over about 40 minutes, but this writer was denied the opportunity, for reasons best known to the PR agency that co-ordinated the event. He showed his affection for the vertically challenged actor, Rajpal Yadav, remarking that he just has to look at Rajpal to start laughing. In the 50, 60s and 70s, it was comedian Mukri, who had the same effect on cine-goers. As soon as he appeared on screen, even before he had uttered his first dialogue, you could hear guffaws all around. Mukri, too, was vertically challenged, and has a funny face, but he was rotund, unlike the fit Rajpal Yadav. In the trailer, there is a shot where Akshay asks Rajpal his name, and Rajpal says, “Sunder,” (which means beautiful, in Hindi).” Akshay gives him a second look, and asks him, “Who gave you that name?” “My parents,” responds Rajpal. Then comes the punchline, from Akshay, “Were they blind?” Sorry, but this kind of comedy cuts no ice with me. I am sure that persons of the physiques and visages like Rajpal and Mukri are not born such looks. A joke in very poor taste. Also at the receiving end of many an Akshay whack, Rajpal protest at the repeated ‘treatment’. I recall villain Manmohan doing the same in a film of the late 60s, after being bashed by a succession of strangers who barge into his hideout.
A journalist asked Priyadarshan whether the music and theme of Bhooth Bangla were inspired by the work of late Satyajit Ray, the renowned master writer-director, especially from his film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969). He replied that he is a great fan of Ray, but the inspiration, if any, is only derivative. “Take the word ‘divaanaa’ (Hindustani for ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’), for instance. Innumerable films have used this word, but does not mean they are copying or plagiarising.
Everybody was bending backwards to acknowledge the genius of Priyadarshan. One journalist asked him what was different in Bhooth Bangla, which had not been done earlier? He retorted, “We have added fantasy to horror and comedy. I am sure you will like the blend.” Perhaps the best compliment to Priyadarshan was paid by character actor Rajesh Sharma, who commented, “Cinema has its own language. And only those who have had the privilege of working with Priyadarshan can claim that they have learnt this language.”
Scheduled to begin at 12.15 pm, the event kicked-off only at 2 pm.
Bhooth Bangla paid previews begin in theatres, 16th April 2026 onwards.
No release date was announced.
