13 February,2024 10:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Akshay Kumar in a still from Bhool Bhulaiyaa
The makers of 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' amped up the excitement around the film with the announcement of Vidya Balan's return to the franchise. The actress who played the role of Manjulika in the 2008 film will be starring alongside Kartik Aaryan in the upcoming fim. With this announcement, fans wondered if Akshay Kumar will also be makinga comebakc to the franchise. He played the role of a psychiatirst in th firt film which was the remake of a Malayalam film.
Now, filmmaker Anees Bazmee has opened up about the possibility of getting Akshay Kumar on board. No, Akshay is not a part of 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3'. I am dying to work with him, but unfortunately, I have not been able to script a film where we could work together. In the future, certainly yes," he told Zoom in an interview.
Anees Bazmee further spoke about Vidya Balan's involvement in the project. He said, "Look, Vidya had agreed to do a 3-day role in my film Thank You. I remember calling her, and she taking no time to give her nod of consent. I don't know why, but I can never forget that gracious gesture. It all started from there, and here I am today, ready to go on the set."
Regarding the start date of filming, the director said, "Well, we definitely start in March, but I haven't finalised the exact date yet."
Meanwhile, on Monday, actor Kartik Aaryan who played Rooh Baba in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, took to his Instagram account and shared a video featuring Vidya Balan's scene from 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa'. The clip was edited with him dancing as Rooh Baba from the second part of the franchise. With the video, he announced the return of âOG Manjulika' Vidya Balan for the third part of the horror-comedy. Kartik Aaryan announced that the third instalment will hit the big screen this Diwali and wrote, "And its happening Og Manjulika is coming back to the world of BhoolBhulaiyaa Super thrilled to welcome @balanvidya This Diwali is going to be crackling"
Vidya Balan's iconic portrayal of Manjulika in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' left an indelible mark on audiences, creating a lasting impact that continues to resonate. Whereas in the second instalment, Rooh Baba played by Kartik Aaryan also gauged massive love and appreciation from the audiences. The excitement reaches new heights as these two come together portraying their iconic characters in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3', which now seems undeniably thrilling, promising a nostalgic yet fresh experience.
For the unversed, directed by Anees Bazmee 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' was released on 20 May 2022 while the first part was released in 2007 and it starred Akshay Kumar as Dr. Aditya "Adi" Shrivastav, Vidya Balan in dual roles as Avni S. Chaturvedi & Manjulika, Shiney Ahuja in dual roles as Siddharth Chaturvedi & Raja Vibhuti Narayan, Ameesha Patel as Radha Chaturvedi, Paresh Rawal as Batukshankar Upadhyay, Manoj Joshi as Badrinarayan "Badri" Chaturvedi and Rajpal Yadav as Chhote Pandit among others.