Anees Bazmee on directing Bhool Bhulaiyya 3

I believe Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a very iconic film and there was always pressure to make a sequel after the amazing work done by Vidya Balan, Akshay Kumar, and our senior director Priyadarshan. When they approached me to direct the second installment I was worried and excited. The biggest directorial challenge in continuing a franchise is you have to make a similar film but not the same. If you make something completely new people would be like why this title; and if it’s the same then they would say we have already seen these before. So, we decided to not repeat the concept of psychological thriller and go forward with horror. For Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 we started brainstorming on the basic concept till it reached a point where I thought I, as an audience would enjoy this. Our aim is to present a cinema which has more comedy, horror, and music than the last part. Everybody is very happy with whatever we have shot till now.

When I saw part 1 with Manjulika who is a Bengali character, I wondered why the setting is different. In part 2, I wanted to have a good location and I like the deserts and havelis of Rajasthan. Now, the question was where to shoot in part 3? So one day we decided that if Manjulika’s roots are in Bengal then why do we go somewhere else? Kolkata has a rich tradition and a very sweet language. Our main characters come from this city, and their names and dialect is also similar. I believe more justice is done to the character of Manjulika.

I believe in having a nice ambiance on the set. Even after 10-15 years of the movie’s release when you look back there should be a smile and happy memories of it. I don’t think anyone else could have done Rooh Baba’s role better than Kartik. Vidya ji is doing an important character. She is a very nice human being. She observes, listens, works hard, and is enthusiastic. I have always liked Tripti’s work and also I wanted to take someone new opposite Karthik so that the pair looks fresh. She has a pivotal role with many shades and a scope to express herself.

Comedy and horror click when they come together. Earlier the ghosts used to be ugly with distorted faces but today you also have VFX. If you have seen how Tabu looked as a ghost, it was well done. Also, earlier horror films used to depend a lot on the shock element. Now it’s a little different. I also keep some shock effects but sometimes in scenes, there is no music. That is a very dangerous situation for a director. When the entire hall is quiet, if there’s one comment or noise, then the essence of the entire scene goes awry. As a creator you have to think a lot, sometimes take the perception of the audience, and then plan the moves. Silence creates a lot of horror. 

I am directing a horror movie but I don’t believe much in ghosts. But then if you tell me to visit a graveyard at 2 am in the night, I will not go. There’s a slight hesitation. The place where we were shooting recently, at night there’s a slight uneasiness that the place exudes. Whether you believe it or not, sometimes unexplainable things happen and I have seen some. Logically I don’t have any answers but I do believe something unexplainable exists and there is belief in them.

For all makers, the most important thing is what next? Whoever has their beliefs in whichever topic, or as per the script they get, they work on it The movie Stree had done very well, although the horror there was of a different kind. I believe that people get more ideas there [South]. But horror movies are being made in both industries and will continue to be made. I believe you need to make a good film whether it’s a comedy, horror, or action –film. There should be conviction in it and the audience would like it.

I have a lot of friends from Kolkata. Sometimes they bring food over to Mumbai. They know I love fish so they get different variations. The first thing I did after touching down was visit the Howrah Bridge and the flower market.

I have watched Satyajit Rays’s movies. He was a genius. I love watching films no matter what the language is.

I think it’s a great medium. I am working on a few things.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is scheduled to be released later this year.