How do we go from “Aur rupa, naha liya,” to “Bhoot Bangla?”
There are two types of nostalgia films. One type reminds people of why they fell in love with a particular star. The second type is a film wearing vintage clothes and singing old songs in hopes that just being acquainted with something from their childhood will make it a success. Bhooth Bangla fits more closely into the second category.
Bhooth Bangla was recently released, and the combination of Akshay Kumar, spooky comedy, and the return of Priyadarshan (the person behind several well-loved chaos comedies) should have made the film an illegal level of excitement for both millennials and Gen Zs. If there were a photographic equivalent to “opening an old snack and finding your favourite chips still inside,” this would have been it.
The story follows Arjun Acharya, a broke guy who inherits his family’s giant ancestral home in Mangalpur, like most Indian movie characters, he doesn’t believe in bad vibes, so he wants to host his sister Meera’s wedding at the haunted/haunts of his home. When he is hosting the wedding, people start having strange experiences at the haveli, and it is believed to be possessed by a demon spirit called Vadhusur, who has been linked to causing problems for brides going on her wedding day and creating havoc within their family. Arjun continuously discredits the warnings from others until he discovers that he has a lost family, supernatural twists and turns, and a hidden identity.
Reviewers have stated that Akshay still has good comedic timing, but the story seems dated and not as magical as expected by the audience.
Which is exactly why many viewers ended up thinking the same thing: if we’re revisiting Akshay Kumar nostalgia, why not revisit the actual classics that raised us?
6 Akshay Kumar Nostalgic Comedies We Grew Up On
1.Hera Pheri
Three broke guys. A call goes awry and becomes part of cinema history!
Yup, that’s precisely what the plot is.
Raju needs money, Shyam needs a job, and Baburao Ganpatrao Apte needs peace. Spoiler Alert: No one’s gonna get it easy!
These three struggling tenants accidentally receive a call from kidnappers demanding ransom. Instead of informing authorities like responsible citizens, they decide to launch their own side hustle and outsmart the criminals.
Because why not?
2. Phir Hera Pheri
What if financially irresponsible men got rich and learned absolutely nothing?
Welcome Phir Hera Pheri!
When the three men, Raju, Shyam and Baburao, receive significant paisa, they no longer have any common sense or use of rationality. Instead of becoming responsible with their newfound wealth, they get sucked into a fraudulent investment scheme that claims to give them unbelievable returns, and subsequently, the trio becomes mired in a myriad of problems (money woes, gangsters, kidnappings, etc.).
Yet somehow, it remains one of the most rewatchable comedies ever made.
3. Bhool Bhulaiyaa
This one is the real haunted house nostalgia package.
When Siddharth and Avni move into their ancestral home, there is a ton of history that comes with it, and well, everything goes wrong.
They begin to have bhootiya occurrences in their new home, so they employ the services of Dr. Aditya Shrivastav to help solve the mystery. Enter Dr. Aditya Shrivastav, played by Akshay Kumar with elite confidence and zero indoor volume control. He dismisses ghost stories and starts investigating what appears to be a supernatural mystery.
The story revolves around Manjulika and how her trauma, memories, and identity exist together.
To all those who love this film, we just wanna say…Durgashtami ke baad aana.
4. Welcome
MIRACLE MIRACLE!
Rajiv desires to marry Sanjanna; Uday Shetty and Majnu Bhai (the brothers she ditched) both happen to be criminals; Uday & Majnu love killing like we enjoy breathing; Rajiv’s family wants nothing to do with Sanjana and her mafia family; hence everyone pretends to be what they are not.
Also, we have gun shoot-outs, each one bigger from the last; each person trying to outdo someone/trying to impress their girlfriend, which was comedy gold. Akshay’s role as the sane man trapped among lunatics was comedy gold.
5. Mujhse Shaadi Karogi
Goa had beaches. This film had wars!
Samir moves to Goa to resolve his anger problems and hopes to impress Rani; however, then arrives Sunny (who is charming, helpful, and on a mission trying to sabotage Sameer), The result is a full romantic comedy built on manipulation, jealousy, pranks, and absurd rivalry.
Akshay’s performance as the lovable villain tricked us into thinking he was a great hero. All hail gaslighter no. 1 Akshay Kumar!
6. Garam Masala
If lying were an Olympic sport, Mac would have won gold.
Mac is dating at least 3 girls, carefully scheduling his life to avoid any of them being together; consequently, his friend, Sam, is sucked into this tornado of drama; as all three girls converge at once, doors are slammed, lies abound, and hysterics spread like wildfire.
3 Bonus Picks For The RIYAL Akshay Kumar Brainrot Fans
7. De Dana Dan
A kidnapping gone wrong! Bole toh, terribly wrong! Guests in the hotel (that are all ‘crazy’) flooding with financial confusion in this full-blown uproar.
8. Singh Is Kinng
Happy (who accidentally took over an underground mafia) leads/makes the underworld mafia; this one is funnily ridiculous and ridiculously funny and also, carries the swagger of the late-2000s.
9. Namastey London
A romantic comedy with elements of both heart and humour; and one monologue that will be in our minds until we die!
But yk what, uspe mai kya meri laash bhi uthegi.
While Bhooth Bangla was an attempt to resurrect Akshay Kumar’s previous on-screen aura and “aur rupa, naha liya” coded comedy you cannot use nostalgia as a prop to turn on and place in a haunted house. Nostalgia comes from movies we watched constantly on TV, references we made in hallways at school, and times when life turned difficult and you needed a laugh.
Some movies remind you of when you were a child. Some movies remind you that when you were a child, you had great taste.
Toodlessss.