‘The Bhootnii’ teaser out: A film that lacks both horror and comedy

Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt and Mouni Roy are gearing up for the release of their upcoming film ‘The Bhootnii’, teaser of which was released on Wednesday, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. Co-starring Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari, Beyounick and Aasif Khan, the horror-comedy is set for its theatrical release on April 18. For those who have not yet watched the teaser of this Sidhaant Sachdev-directorial, we bring you reasons why the film may leave you disappointed than excited, as we review its teaser.

It's neither scary nor funny

The one minute and a few seconds trailer begins with how an aatma (soul) is “unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and timeless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.” It then shows some scenes of a burning tree, blasting windows, etc. There are also scenes of what looks like a possessed woman (played by Palak) while another scene shows Mouni as ‘The Bhootnii’ with her skin beaming with fire and eyes turning green. However, none of the scenes are horror-worthy. If that was not all, the teaser has barely any comic scene/dialogue that may hint at it being a horror-comedy.

‘The Bhootnii’ appears to be Sanjay’s weakest work in recent times

With his role in ‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’, Sanjay witnessed a new rise in his stardom. Since then, he did some interesting roles in ‘Samrat Prithviraj,’ ‘Shamshera,’ ‘Ghudchadi,’ and ‘Leo: Bloody Sweet.’ However, his role in ‘The Bhootnii’ as what-appears-to-be a ghost killer, barely has set any expectations. It’s possibly a film that an acclaimed actor like Sanjay can also not help from sinking. He has been shown punching a ghost but nothing leaves an impact in this teaser.

Mouni to play a ‘Bhootnii’ after being television world’s favourite ‘Naagin’

Mouni made her film debut with ‘Gold’, and did receive positive reviews for her performance. She may have left the television world, and for good, however, what doesn’t leave her is playing a naagin in ‘Naagin’. Mouni isn’t done with supernatural titles as she is now set to play a witch. Those who had enough of watching her as the naagin, will now have to bear her as a bhootnii also. However, her role might also serve as a fodder for new memes.

Teaser offers nothing new

One of the biggest reasons why the teaser didn’t generate any interest in me to be eager for the film’s release is that it shows nothing that we have not seen before. It’s the same story that we have been watching for many years - a spirit possesses a young woman, does some horrific things, family members (in this case, the woman’s love interest) seek a ghost-hunter’s help, so on and so forth. While the teaser has generated no interest at all, there are very few to no expectations from the trailer about presenting us with something new, unique, or attention-grabbing.