The Bhootnii Movie Review : This horror comedy is haunted by cliches and occasionally saved by humour

Story: A jilted lover accidentally awakens a spirit haunting the Virgin Tree on his college campus. As he becomes the object of her obsession, a para-physicist is called in. The entity, however, is unlike anything he’s encountered before. Can the ghostbuster send her back to where she came from?

Review: Horror comedy is a tricky genre to pull off, but films like the Stree universe have proven their potential. Writer-director Sidhaant Sachdeva attempts a similar outing, with mixed results. The story follows Shantanu (Sunny Singh) and his roommates, Sahil (Beyounick), and Nasir (Aasif Khan), at St Vincent’s College in Delhi, where the Virgin Tree is haunted by Mohabbat (Mouni Roy), a spirit who awakens every Valentine’s Day in search of true love—but takes souls on Holika Dahan. No one knows her identity or the reason behind this eerie phenomenon. Suspense builds as students begin experiencing hallucinations, epileptic episodes, and even die by suicide. The college management turns to Baba (Sanjay Dutt), a para-physicist who arrives with his quirky contraptions to uncover the truth and banish the spirit.

Sachdev and Vankush Arora’s story doesn’t tread new ground, though Santhosh Thundiyil’s cinematography occasionally lends it an atmospheric touch. The narrative, however, is riddled with inconsistencies—when Mohabbat takes human form to lure Shantanu, she’s constantly by his side. But once her identity as the ghost is revealed, she inexplicably starts vanishing for hours, conveniently giving Baba the time to do his work. While some sequences are intriguing, the gimmicky VFX and Mohabbat’s sub-par make-up effects dilute the impact.

The film falls short in the horror department, though the comedic elements somewhat compensate for its shortcomings. Sunny Singh, Nikunj Lotia, and Aasif Khan deliver amusing one-liners, and their camaraderie brings occasional laughs. However, their characterisations feel exaggerated and outdated—Sahil is fixated on finding a girlfriend, while Nasir is a wannabe shayar who constantly speaks in Urdu. The movie includes a few self-referential nods—to Mouni Roy’s popular show Naagin, Sanjay Dutt’s Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., and Stree. Sanjay Dutt plays a St Vincent alumnus known as Baba, a nickname stemming from his double graduation (BA+BA, get it?). He fits the role well and has a few humorous scenes and lines to his credit. His backstory, played out by Navneet Malik, ties him to Mohabbat but feels contrived, making the climax predictable and clichéd. Mouni Roy and Palak Tiwari play their parts competently, though the latter’s character could have been better written.

Despite moments of humour, The Bhootnii struggles with inconsistent storytelling, underwhelming horror elements, and predictable twists. You won’t miss much as you give this one a miss.