Phone Bhoot Movie Review: No Sense, But A Lot To Laugh About
© Courtesy of Noondrop the phone
U/A: Horror, Comedy
Directed by Gurmeet Singh
Cast: Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 3/5
As I sipped my second cup of coffee and realized what this movie was all about, watching Katrina Kaif reenact her romance with the mango from the famous Slice ad, someone next to me couldn't help but laugh. The laughter around me got louder and louder and I decided to just give up and enjoy the whole experience without looking for logic. To my surprise, the movie got better after that. Phone Bhoot is a long collection of pop culture references that aspires to be a cohesive film. The Hindi lover in me was delighted with some. I almost screamed when Raka (Dheeraj Kumar) from Ramsay Brothers' Purana Mandir (1984) made an extended cameo.
Creator and director Gurmeet Singh returns after his hit series Mirzapur and tells the story of two ghost hunters. Looks like Singh needs a break from this world of blood and filth. Sorry for trying to fit the craziness of this movie into post-Mirzapur Singh trauma, but there really is no explanation.
Also Read: Tanisha Says To Santoshi's Childhood Friend Jhanvi Kapoor: 'You Are Amazing'
Gullu and Major are fans of the horror genre and enjoyed a bit of magic with fat Chinese. Its platform is a holy place for popular and well-known genre films. After Ragini (Kaif) entered the scene, their career took off. Ragini is a soul waiting for others like her to attain moksha, also known as liberation. The success of his boutique, Phone Bhoot, attracts the attention of the evil tantric Atmaram, played by the ever-cool-cat Jackie Shroff.
Writers Singh and Jaswinder Bhatt and Ravi Shankaran Raj never run out of references or personal statements, they just keep popping up. Some of the villains are smile-inducing, while others are strategically placed for landmarks. Kaif is admirable for his sense of humor and lightheartedness with his co-stars, qualities that most celebrities lack. From beating yourself up, poor Hindi vocabulary, friendship with Chikni Chudail (Sheeba Chadha makes sense in her role), Slice references and more.
Also read: Big deal? In collaboration with Vivek Agnihotri, Sukumar, Abhishek Agrawal
Every one of his criticisms turned into a joke. It's great to see him really enjoying himself on screen. I wonder if this devil-may-care relationship will get the role it deserves in the next few years. It was also nice to see Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi forming a nice friendship with him. The boy is a new age Jai Veer on screen. Her performance was inspired by Aamir Khan's co-star Salman Khan in the 1994 cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna. We also hear mentions of Gully Boy's A Matched Boy (2020) and Chaturvedi's Bohot Hard. There's no attempt at understanding even at this stage, just a few laughable examples. The biggest laugh was Jackie Shroff, a true hero in his own words. Yes!
Singh's film is difficult because it has no plot. In fact, there are long periods of nothing on the screen and most of it is pointless. Best of all, they will use the Go, Goa, Gone (Raj and DK creation) experience with Phone Bhoot. Singh and the writing team do not provide enough wit. It seems that there will be a sequel, hopefully it will be more intense. That being said, I don't mind spending lazy afternoons watching lazy movies and cuddling with lazy kids at the multiplex near my house. Laughing is great fun and sometimes that's what you need!
