Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (transl. Labyrinth 3) is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language comedy horror film directed by Anees Bazmee, written by Aakash Kaushik, and produced by T-Series Films and Cine1 Studios. It serves as the third installment of the eponymous franchise after Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022). It stars Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri, and is set in Kolkata.

The film was officially announced in March 2023. Principal photography took place from March to September 2024 in Mumbai, Kolkata, Orchha, and Leh, with cinematography by Manu Anand. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 was theatrically released on 1 November 2024, coinciding with Diwali. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and grossed over ₹423.85 crore worldwide, emerging as the second highest-grossing Hindi film and sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.

Plot

In 1824, a woman is shown dancing Kathak in the Raktghat palace at night, only to be caught by the king and his bodyguards. The king orders that the Kathak dancer be burnt alive, and the guards obey king orders. Sometime later, the spirit of the dancer returns to haunt the killers. The spirit killed both the man who burnt her and the king as well. The bodyguards are killed, with the king being set ablaze in his bed by the spirit.

200 years later, in 2024, Ruhaan, a conman pretending to be a ghostbuster under the pseudonym “Rooh Baba,” along with his accomplice Tillu, cheat people in Kolkata for a living. One day, they get a call from a person referring to himself as the “King” of Raktghat, who wants to oust the ghost of his niece “Meera,” said to be haunting his house. While Ruhaan attempts to exorcise Meera's spirit, he inadvertently admits that he is a fraud, which her uncle records on his phone. All of this turns out to be a hoax set up by Meera and her uncle to catch Ruhaan and bring him to their native place, Raktghat—an erstwhile princely state in West Bengal. Meera promises to pay Ruhaan a sum of ₹1 crore if he helps them reclaim their palace, which is supposedly haunted by the spirit of Manjulika. With no option left, Ruhaan follows the duo to Raktghat, where he finds a broke royal family struggling to meet their daily needs. The royal family now lives in a small house outside the haunted palace.

Meera and the royal priest reveal to Ruhaan a prophecy: 200 years ago, Princess Manjulika killed her younger stepbrother Debendranath, who was chosen by their father, the king, to ascend the throne over her due to gender bias. As punishment, the king burned Manjulika alive. She returned as a spirit to haunt the royals, killing almost everyone with king, but was eventually captured. Her spirit was locked in her room by the royal priests and was never to be opened again. Ruhaan learns that he resembles Debendranath and is seen as the prophesied saviour. Everyone believe that Ruhaan is rebirth of Prince Debendranath. His return is celebrated by the villagers—except for three fake pundits.

Meera calls upon a restoration team so that the palace can be sold and Ruhaan's promised bounty can be paid. Eventually, Meera and Ruhaan fall in love. Mallika, from the restoration company, arrives at the palace. Meanwhile, three conmen posing as pundits are discovered hiding in the palace in the supposedly locked room of Manjulika. They had been trying to scare others away so they could live in the palace unnoticed, but they are caught by Ruhaan, Mallika and Meera.

Ruhaan and the others then discover another locked room, similar to Manjulika's. Believing that the palace is not truly haunted, Ruhaan opens it, unknowingly releasing a spirit. The royal priest reveals that there were actually two princesses—the elder Anjulika and the younger Manjulika. Both despised each other and wanted to ascend the throne. Somehow, Anjulika's presence was erased from the pages of history.

To everyone's surprise, a royal named Mandira arrives at the palace intending to purchase it from the family once restoration is complete. Mandira and Mallika are often at odds with each other, unbeknownst to the family and Ruhaan. Meanwhile, the spirit begins killing anyone who proposes to buy the palace's belongings. Ruhaan and Meera are haunted by illusions of Mandira and Mallika, both claiming to be Manjulika. The fake pundits and Ruhaan attempt to escape the palace, but the spirit prevents them from leaving.

On Durgashtami, Mallika and Mandira attack each other, both identifying themselves as Manjulika. The royal priest concocts a magical oil that could stop the spirit. Ruhaan uses this oil to confront it. In a shocking turn of events, the spirit provokes the family, Mandira, Mallika, and Ruhaan, finally revealing that the spirit is not Manjulika but Prince Debendranath himself.

In a flashback, the married Prince Debendranath is shown as effeminate, fond of Kathak dancing in the palace hall while the other royals slept. Anjulika and Manjulika discover this secret and pretend to sympathize. The sisters conspire together—while Anjulika sings for Debendranath as he dances Kathak, Manjulika informs the king and his ministers. Debendranath is thus shamed and berrated in front of everyone, and the king orders his bodyguards to burn him alive. The king also punishes Anjulika by erasing her presence from history, while making Manjulika appear killer of Prince Debendranath. Both sisters are expelled from the kingdom. Sometime later, Prince Debendranath's spirit returned and killed the king and his bodyguards but is eventually captured by the royal priests and kept locked in the secret room. Manjulika's room was merely a decoy, a cover-up of who the real ghost truly is to protect the king's honour.

Now, Debendranath's spirit possesses and switches both Mallika and Mandira, attacking Ruhaan and the royals, deceiving them into believing that either of them could be the true Manjulika who must be burnt alive in a similar fashion that the prince died. It is revealed that Ruhaan is not rebirth of Prince Debendranath but Mandira and Mallika are actually the rebirths of Anjulika and Manjulika. The royal priest captures the spirit and urges the sisters to destroy it. However, Mandira and Mallika beg for clemency, which the spirit finally accepts. Debendranath's soul attains peace after 200 years.

In a mid-credit scene, Mandira reveals that she is actually ACP Rathore, a police officer whom Ruhaan had been trying to avoid, causing him to faint as everyone bursts into laughter.

Cast

Production

Casting

Kartik Aaryan was cast as an alternate version of his role from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. On 12 February 2024, it was announced that Vidya Balan, who played Manjulika in the original Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), would play an alternate version of her character, by sharing a video of Instagram. On 21 February 2024, it was announced that Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri would be joining the project. Rajpal Yadav, known for his role as Chhota Pandit in the previous films, will also return to reprise his role. The cast also features Vijay Raaz, Rajesh Sharma, Manish Wadhwa, Sanjay Mishra, and Ashwini Kalsekar.

Filming

On 9 March 2024, in Mumbai, the cast and crew of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 gathered for an inaugural muhurat puja ceremony to mark the beginning of principal photography. Producer Bhushan Kumar clapped the muhurat shot for Kartik Aaryan. Vidya Balan, Triptii Dimri, Rajesh Sharma, and co-producer Shiv Chanana were also present at the ceremony. A glimpse video of this ceremony was shared by T-Series on 11 March 2024, titled "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Begins", The video also featured Aaryan shooting the first shot of the movie, which was a train sequence, filmed by DOP Manu Anand.

During shooting, director Anees Bazmee faced significant challenges as he fractured his leg on the last day of the film recce. Against doctor's suggestions to get a steel plate and rest for 3 months, he opted for minor surgery that allowed him to honor his commitment to the film. He came to the film set in a wheelchair and continued with his work. The film's production involved extensive planning and coordination, with key members Bhushan Kumar, Bazmee, and Aaryan actively engaged in discussions and preparations.

Filming began in Mumbai, with the first schedule wrapping up on 27 March 2024. During this schedule, the entry sequence of Aaryan was also shot. A massive set was erected in Film City, Mumbai, specifically for the song, which involved over a thousand background dancers with choreography done by Ganesh Acharya. After a short break, Bazmee, still recovering from his injury, scouted for locations in Kolkata for the next schedule. The cast and crew landed in Kolkata on 8 April 2024, to commence the second schedule. In this schedule, Aaryan rode a bullet on Howrah Bridge, with Prantika Das and with Arun Kushwah at Victoria Memorial. The shooting then progressed to Mallick Ghat flower market, where a small set with skeletons was put up. Following this, Bazmee filmed scenes at the Park Street Graveyard and Nonapukur Tram Depot, and finally concluded the shoot at Laha Bari in Central Kolkata. Prior to this, key shots were filmed at an elaborate Bengali village set setup by the production team in Mumbai. The song 'Mere Dholna' has been filmed as jugalbandi between Madhuri and Vidya and has been choreographed by Chinni Prakash.