Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Encyclopedia
Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a 2007
Bollywood films of 2007
Films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 2007:-Highest grossing:The top ten grossing films at the Indian box office in 2007.-2007:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...

 Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...

 comedy horror
Comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...

 film directed by Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...

. The film constitutes the official remake of the 1993 Malayalam
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...

 film, Manichitrathazhu
Manichitrathazhu
Manichitrathazhu is a 1993 Malayalam psychological thriller-horror-musical film written by Madhu Muttam, directed by Fazil, and produced by Appachan. The film was an unusual theme in Malayalam cinema but proceeded to become a high grosser at the box-office...

, which was already remade into several Indian films. The film features Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...

, Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

, Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai , Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha , which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a ...

 and Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja is an Indian actor who won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2006.- Early life :...

 in pivotal roles with Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...

 and Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

 in supporting roles. The music of the film was composed by Pritam
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...

 and the lyrics were written by Sameer
Sameer (lyricist)
Sameer is an Indian lyricist,the main form of work undertaken by Sameer is for Indian songs in Hindi language films. His father is the famed Hindi lyricist, Anjaan . Since the beginning of his career, Sameer has penned around 4,000 songs in over 500 Hindi films and more than 130 songs in 23...

.

The film began shooting on 18 February 2007 for a 41-day schedule at Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and was released on 12 October 2007.

Plot

Badri, (Manoj Joshi
Manoj Joshi (actor)
Manoj Joshi is an India film and television actor. Joshi began his career in Marathi theatre, also putting up performances in Gujarati and Hindi theatre...

) heads a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 family whose ancestral palace is believed to be haunted by the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 of Manjulika, a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

 classical dancer. One day, Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja is an Indian actor who won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2006.- Early life :...

) and Avni (Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's elder brother, return to their native village from America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and decide to stay in their ancestral palace. Here, Siddharth is crowned as the king, his right to the throne.

Events take a twist when Avni opens a forbidden locked room that contains the ghost of Manjulika with the help of Nandini (Tareena Patel
Tareena Patel
Tarina Patel is a model turned actress who appears in Bollywood movies. She is well known for her portrayal as "Nandini Upadhyay" in the 2007 hit Bhool Bhulaiyaa which is directed by Priyadarshan.-Modeling:...

), Siddharth's cousin. Unnatural events start taking place inside the palace. Avni falls in love with the place and learns about Manjulika and her tragic story. Badri and Batuk Shankar (Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...

) try to ward off the evil eye with the help of a priest, Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti (Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale is an well known Indian film, television and stage actor, notable for his roles in Marathi theatre and Hindi films and television...

), but unfortunately the priest has gone to London and is unsure when he might return. When the local priest, Chhote Pandit (Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

), sees the moving shadow of Manjulika heading towards him, he ends up becoming crazy.

Siddharth starts suspecting Radha (Amisha Patel
Amisha Patel
Ameesha Patel is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai , Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha , which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a ...

) for all the strange occurrences. He thinks she has gone crazy since he was supposed to marry her, but married Avni instead. He calls his friend/psychiatrist Dr. Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...

) to try to figure out what the problem is with Radha.

Once Aditya reaches the palace, things become comical, as no one likes him and thinks he is a fool, though he is in fact very intelligent. Aditya uses modern analytical techniques to find out the reason behind the ghost problem. He eventually realizes that Radha is not at fault, and that there is someone else behind it all. One night, while patrolling the palace, he encounters Manjulika and dares her to strike. The ghost angrily vows to take her revenge on the auspicious day of Durgashtami
Durga Puja
Durga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...

.

During the engagement of Nandini and Sharad Pradhan (Vineeth
Vineeth
Vineeth is an Indian film actor and classical dancer who has acted in several well received films in his native Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He studied in Good Shepherd Public School, Ooty, and at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Thalassery.Vineeth is nephew of the famous Travancore...

), Avni spills food on Sharad and takes him away to get him cleaned. Aditya notices that Avni is missing so he and Siddharth go to find her. When they do, they see that there is a struggle between Avni and Sharad, and quickly intervene. Siddharth begins to hit Sharad, thinking that he was violating Avni, but Aditya tells him that Avni is actually the real culprit. It is revealed that Avni has Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....

, a disease that affects the person's identity, making them think they're someone else. Aditya explains that Avni is the one making all the strange things happen around the palace. To support his argument, Aditya reveals that he visited Avni's hometown to gather information about her childhood and has factual evidence. He then tells the half-convinced Siddtharth to provoke Avni in order to make him realize that something is wrong. When Siddharth provokes her, Avni shows the personality of Manjulika before returning to her usual self, much to the horror and concern of Siddharth, who asks Aditya to save Avni.

During Durgashtami, Aditya and Siddharth see Avni consumed in Manjulika's identity, dressed as her and dancing to the tunes Manjulika had been dancing to with her love, Shashidhar, before the king murdered him. Through this, the tragic love story of the old king Vibhuti Narayan, who loved Manjulika, who in turn loved Shashidhar, is revealed. Avni imagines herself as Manjulika and Sharad as Shashidhar, dancing in the court of the king. This triggers Avni's disorder; she completely assumes the identity of Manjulika and tries to kill her own husband Siddharth; she sees him as Vibhuti Narayan, the king who had killed Manjulika's lover and locked her up in the room where she committed suicide.

To cure Avni, Aditya triggers Manjulika's personality and makes her promise to leave Avni if she gets the opportunity to kill the king and take her revenge. The priest Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti (who happens to be Aditya's guider) arrives to visit Siddharth. With his help, during the ritual of Durgashtami, Aditya lays out an intricate plan to trick Manjulika into thinking she is killing the king when she is actually slaying a dummy of Siddharth. After the "murder", Manjulika, now content, leaves Avni forever. Aditya hypnotizes the unconscious Avni and says that she will continue her life as the same happy and peaceful person she once was. Everything ends well and Aditya tells Radha, whom he has taken a liking to, that he will send his parents over if she is interested in marrying him, to which a smiling and happy Radha gives her silent consent.

Cast

Actor/Actress Role
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...

 
Dr. Aditya Shrivastav
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

 
Avni Siddharth Chaturvedi/Manjulika
Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja
Shiney Ahuja is an Indian actor who won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi in 2006.- Early life :...

 
Siddharth Chaturvedi/Raja Vibhuti Narayan
Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai , Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha , which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a ...

 
Radha
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :...

 
Batukshankar Upadhyay
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

 
Chhote Pandit (Natwar)
Manoj Joshi
Manoj Joshi (actor)
Manoj Joshi is an India film and television actor. Joshi began his career in Marathi theatre, also putting up performances in Gujarati and Hindi theatre...

 
Badrinarayan Chaturvedi (Badri)
Vineeth
Vineeth
Vineeth is an Indian film actor and classical dancer who has acted in several well received films in his native Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He studied in Good Shepherd Public School, Ooty, and at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Thalassery.Vineeth is nephew of the famous Travancore...

 
Professor Sharad Pradhan/Shashidhar
Asrani
Asrani
Govardhan Asrani , popularly known simply as Asrani, is an actor in Indian films whose Bollywood career has spanned over 35 years. His wife Manju Bansal is an actress.-Early life:...

 
Murari
Tareena Patel
Tareena Patel
Tarina Patel is a model turned actress who appears in Bollywood movies. She is well known for her portrayal as "Nandini Upadhyay" in the 2007 hit Bhool Bhulaiyaa which is directed by Priyadarshan.-Modeling:...

 
Nandini Upadhyay
Rasika Joshi
Rasika Joshi
Rasika Joshi :रसिका जोशी) was a noted Marathi and Hindi film actress. A celebrated Marathi theatre and Indian television actress, she was known for Maharashtrian roleplays in Bollywood movies.-Personal life:...

 
Janaki Upadhyay
Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale
Vikram Gokhale is an well known Indian film, television and stage actor, notable for his roles in Marathi theatre and Hindi films and television...

 
Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti
Kaveri Jha
Kaveri Jha
Kaveri Jha is an Indian film actress, who works in Telugu films as well as Hindi films.-Early life:Jha hails from Darbhanga Bihar. Her family had to move a lot as her father is an Indian government employee. She was voted Ms...

 
Girja Upadhyay (Uncredited)

Casting

Originally Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...

 and Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi-language film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. She was voted the sexiest Asian woman in the world by Eastern Eye in the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011...

 were the first female choices for this film but they turned down the offer and were replaced by Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

 and Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel
Ameesha Patel is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai , Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha , which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a ...

. Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....

 had to take Kathak
Kathak
Kathak is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, originated from Uttar Pradesh, India. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or storytellers...

 lessons for this film. Incidentally, Vineeth
Vineeth
Vineeth is an Indian film actor and classical dancer who has acted in several well received films in his native Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He studied in Good Shepherd Public School, Ooty, and at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Thalassery.Vineeth is nephew of the famous Travancore...

 played the same role in the Rajnikanth
Rajnikanth
Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal , directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor....

-starrer Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi is a 2005 Indian horror, comedy and drama film directed by P. Vasu and produced by Ramkumar Ganesan. With a few deviations, it is a remake of Vasu's 2004 Kannada film Apthamitra, which was in-turn a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu...

(2005), which was the Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 remake of Manichithrathazhu.

Controversy

The original story of the film was written by Madhu Muttam
Madhu Muttam
Madhu Muttam is a popular script writer in Kerala, India. His second film as a script writer was the critically acclaimed Malayalam blockbuster Manichitrathazhu which was huge commercial success in Kerala. The film fetched Sobhana the National Award for Best Actress...

. Though he claimed this film as a violation of copyright, the High Court of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 allowed the violation of copyright, in light of the production cost. The film came under a cloud of controversy after a Buddhist organisation objected to the title song in the movie as disrespectful to venerated icons.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Pritam
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...

 with lyrics provided by Sameer
Sameer (lyricist)
Sameer is an Indian lyricist,the main form of work undertaken by Sameer is for Indian songs in Hindi language films. His father is the famed Hindi lyricist, Anjaan . Since the beginning of his career, Sameer has penned around 4,000 songs in over 500 Hindi films and more than 130 songs in 23...

 and Sayeed Quadri. The title track "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" became a chartbuster.

Box office

The film became a super hit and was also a hit overseas; it opened to a 95% response full houses overseas, which was the second best opening of the year after Partner. It was well-received by cinema-goers for its mild comedy and psychological horror and suspense.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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