Title: The Bhootnii
Director: Sidhant Sachdev
Cast: Sunjay Dutt, Mouni Roy, Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari, Nickunj Sharma, Aasif Khan
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 3 stars
By Troy Ribeiro
In the ever-evolving landscape of Bollywood, where genres often intertwine in unexpected ways, this film emerges as a spirited attempt to blend horror and comedy with a dash of romance. Directed by Sidhaant Sachdev, the film is an ambitious attempt at stitching together horror, comedy, and romance with a vibrant desi flair. While the stitches sometimes show, the result is an intermittently enjoyable patchwork that never quite becomes the sum of its spirited parts.
Set in the ludicrously lavish St. Vincent College—less an educational institution, more a lifestyle influencer’s fantasy, the narrative revolves around the legend of the "Virgin Tree," a haunted spot that awakens every Valentine's Day in pursuit of true love. The plot thickens as Shantanu (Sunny Singh), a sweet, slightly befuddled college student, finds himself entangled in a supernatural love triangle involving Ananya (Palak Tiwari) and the ghostly Mohabbat (Mouni Roy). The premise, while intriguing, occasionally falters under the weight of its ambition, oscillating between moments of genuine humour and instances of forced levity.
Sachdev, who co-wrote the screenplay, certainly doesn’t lack ideas. He throws in a ghost-hunting Baba (Sanjay Dutt, reprising his now-patented 'wacky saviour' avatar), paranormal sensors, comic sidekicks Naseer (Aasif Khan) and Sahil (the social media personality- BeYouNick) doing what they can with the material, and emotional flashbacks. There are clever touches—the ghost explaining she’s “not alive” with more melancholy than menace, Baba’s tech-assisted ghostbusting that feels like Ghostbusters on a campus Netflix budget—but much of it gets buried under tonal clutter.
Mouni Roy stands out with a performance that balances eeriness with vulnerability. She lends a spectral dignity to Mohabbat, whose tragic backstory reveals itself just in time to provide emotional weight to the third act. Sanjay Dutt, meanwhile, hams it up with trademark swagger, clearly having a blast, though one wonders if the Baba-Mama wordplay he delivers might have felt fresher in the early 2000s. Sunny Singh and Palak Tiwari try to anchor the chaos with earnestness, but their chemistry doesn’t quite set the screen alight.
The film’s biggest asset is its look and feel. Santhosh Thundiyil’s cinematography turns the college’s empty hallways into breathing characters, and the visual effects—particularly in the climax—are polished enough to make you forget you're watching a genre hybrid. Bunty Negi’s editing ensures the 2-hour-10-minute runtime doesn’t drag, though a tighter runtime might have kept the energy more consistent.
Musically, the film is a mixed bag. The much-touted Mahakaal Mahakaali track delivers the intended punch, and Amar Mohile’s background score knows when to sneak up and stay out of the way. The dialogues, when not leaning into cliché, occasionally sparkle with wit—though the humour, overall, could’ve used a sharper scalpel.
This film is not a reinvention of the horror-comedy wheel, but it rolls along with enough sincerity and spectacle to be intermittently entertaining. It's messy, yes—but also mildly madcap in a way that some might find endearing. If you don’t mind a ghost story with more heart than horror, this one’s worth a curious watch.
