The sequel to a remake that no one asked for is finally here. This time around Anees Bazmee takes over as director and Kartik Aaryan replaces Akshay Kumar in this spiritual sequel that has a spirit with the same name. They should have titled the film Manjulika 2 instead of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.
Anyway, the sequel is set in a haunted mansion in rural Rajasthan (because cities like Mumbai, Delhi do not host spirits). The daughter and bride to be, Reeti fakes her death to help her sister get married. Ruhan (a total stranger, who she knows for less than 24hrs) accompanies her to the mansion and pretends that he can speak to Preeti's ghost and convinces her family to stay there. Little do they know that Manjulika, a spirit locked away in the mansion is waiting to be set free.
Among the positives, the sequel doesn't take itself too seriously. That's a good thing. There are some hilarious moments thanks to the trio of Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra & Ashwini kalsekar. The films have always cast a talented actress in the lead and this time it is Tabu (taking over from Vidya Balan). She is flawless as always. Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani do justice to their roles. Rajesh Sharma, Milind Gunaji & Amar Upadhyay co-star.
The problem with the film is its predictable chain of events. Many of the lighter moments are pretty obvious as well. The twist at the end wasn't a huge surprise because once the priest died there could have only been one "logical" conclusion. Come to think of it, many of the deaths don't make sense now given the big reveal.
Anyway, I am pretty sure moviegoers will lap this up because only mindless, senseless films make sense these days. Nevertheless, it does manage to entertain you for most part.
