A Sequel That Carried Great Anticipations
To call the release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in 2022 another Bollywood release would be an understatement. Rather, it was an attempt at fulfilling a heritage. The first Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) had reached cult status with Akshay Kumar’s ghostbuster antics and Vidya Balan’s memorable Manjulika. The sequel, however, had its work cut out. Was the new generation able to strike the same balance of laughter and fear?
This is where Kartik Aaryan comes in, with his character, the conman Ruhaan, who by coincidence assumes the role of “Rooh Baba,” and Tabu as Anjulika/Manjulika, who, through her dual role, became the pulse and the spine-chilling spirit of the film. The character’s ability to shoulder the narrative of the sequel is the reason why Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was able to succeed as a psychological thriller and a mass entertainer at the same time.
Ruhaan: The Trickster Who Became a Believer
Kartik Aaryan’s Ruhaan is introduced as a sleek and persuasive drifter, a fool who has figured out a way to distort reality at his advantage. Initially, he engages in spirit communication, and fabrications in a bid to control and deceive “customers.” However, as the story progresses, Ruhaan is challenged by something far more real and terrifying than his cons ever prepared him for.
His arc—from a skeptic, to a reluctant believer, and finally to an unexpected savior—seems to mirror the journeys of the audience themselves. Many audience members came for a comedy but were astonished by an underlying tension and underlying fear. In a sense, Ruhaan is an audience member’s avatar; he laughs, doubts, quakes, and finally takes a stand.
For Kartik Aaryan, it was a role that he referred to as a major turning point in his career. Previously, he was known for being in romantic comedies, such as Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. It was important for him to change that perception. In a number of interviews, he has spoken about the amount of stress that he bore in trying to live up to the expectations of a film that belonged to a franchise that was accompanied by a strong sense of nostalgia from fans. In order to get ready, he spent a lot of time alongside an army of voice coaches to learn how to add rhythm to his timing during his jokes, as well as going over fear scenes until they appeared more instinctive than conversational.
Anjulika and Manjulika: The Tabu’s Powerhouse Duo
If Ruhaan was responsible for the humor and the heart of the movie, it is Tabu’s dual role as Anjulika and Manjulika that bestowed the soul and the terror of the film. Alongside that, she acted as two sisters who were pulled apart due to jealousy, betrayal, and revenge of the supernatural kin.
Under her elegance, Anjulika bears unspeakable pain from deep within her soul, which is concealed behind her deeply poised nature. Encased within rage and obsession, Manjulika a vengeful spirit, and Tabu was able to cross boundaries and captured the essence of madness and love, tradition and rebellion all at the same time. Anjulika. the embodiment of rage is everything the audience is focusing on and does so, which terrifies her.
The connection which made the performance unforgettable was how iconic Manjulika was to her culture. As a shadow, the “chhaya” which emerges in Indian folklore and mythology, is both a protector and a destroyer. From the injustice of her vengeful cycle, Manjulika was born. Anjulika is the archetype of a woman who lovingly carries the pain of an entire clan of her family. Tabu, wore both Anjulika and Manjulika to life, in doing so, her culture was trapped in a deep battle.
Over the entire preparation timeline, Tabu in particular, detailed how this role was one of the most difficult to complete. Much of the time spent was in the learning of dance, due to rage Manjulika embodies and the anger that was often emitted. She kept to herself which made her unsettled her co-stars and emerged before “making” the other people in the scene anxious.
Cultural and mnemonic influences:
Characters in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Manjulika derive from more than just fiction. They come from a memory. In India, the stories of family secrets and love-lorn spirits that haunt havelis— along ghostly and lightly sinister tales— are more than stories to tell children. They serve a sinister purpose that is a cautionary tale for children, being told from generation to generation.
Women being imprisoned and shackled into silence is just the tail end of the spine-tingling lore around Monjulika. Silencing, and the subsequent descent into madness of thematic tales woven into the covered balconies and shady granite chambers of the manors is the History of these realms. Manjulika is Monster more substantial than mere fiction. Manjulika is Monster more substantive than mere fiction. Monster Manjulika dwells in a spine-chilling memory that the legacy etched into the mane and remote locks of ‘Tabu’ are held in this Tabu. It is these manacles that are manacled and forged for the Manjulika to reflect from the screen. It is for these manacles of Tabu that andb le Rachel, the legacy is kept.
Behind the scenes, despite the grewsome tone of the project in question, a side’s worth of merriment used to evaporate at all downshoot shutters. As a gentle side-tip, Kartik Aaryan is the unfortunate target of all onside ‘fun’ and even a single smile from his face during sombre scenes is all it takes to erase the resting heart rate. In ‘Tabu’ form, the mere ‘prank’ of Anti Manjulika is a tale that, once told, makes even the tellers shiver. In so saying, a sob-staggering retelling of the Tabu that leads that I’ve noticed. To my right, and sometimes the rest of the set, is set, is a form of disbelief and a skewing of elastic logic that allows these lines ‘unspell’ under the ‘M’ marking. ‘M’ for Manjulika.
The director Anees Bazmee disclosed that some scariest scenes of the film were done in real old mansions filled with mysterious drafts and creaking floorboards, which enhanced the eerie atmosphere. Even the actors themselves were sometimes unsure as to whether the chills were part of the script or came from something unrelated.
Audience Reactions: Whistles, Screams, and Standing Ovations
The release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 wowed the audience. They were especially delighted with Ruhaan who had them in stitches with his antics, leapt in their seats with the scary scenes, and used to shower Tabu with their applause throughout the entire movie. Social media was awash with memes which depicted Kartik Aaryan in his ‘Rooh Baba’ avatar and Manjulika was back to take her rightful place as the foremost ghost in Bollywood.
The critics too, as was expected, highlighted Begum Tabu for what they too say was the crowning jewel. They labeled it as her best work yet in which she dual acted in contemporary Hindi cinema. It was also said that Aaryan has also successfully cemented his place as a bankable actor as the movie was reported to have grossed over 250 crores.
The Enduring Haunt of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
The success of the film did not stem from the fact that it had the audience in splits and scared them. The film also gave them some characters they could connect with on a deeper level. The depth and duality of Tabu, with her characters of Manjulika and Anjulika, and Ruhaan’s metamorphosis from a playful skeptical to a devout believer, had profound complexity that the audience has yet to unpack.
More than being a sequel, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 turned into a cultural phenomenon and for good reason too: it reminds the viewers of the trademark of Indian horror-comedies, which is the balancing of humor, horror and the ghosts we carry deep in our cultural roots.
In that balance, the constellation of its characters—most significantly Tabu’s unrelenting Manjulika—will, for many years to come, continue to haunt the corridors of Bollywood.
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