EXCLUSIVE: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 writer Aakash Kaushik explains why the sequel needed to have a ghost

Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 broke the lull for Hindi films at the box office, bringing new hope and excitement for the whole industry. The film is shattering records everyday and just over the weekend, it even entered the Rs 100 crore club. There is an aura of celebration everywhere with the film receiving so much love and appreciation and amidst this, Bollywood Bubble recently got into an exclusive conversation with the writer of the film Aakash Kaushik. He spoke about the challenges of following a cult classic, bringing Hindi films back at the box office, why the sequel just needed to have a ghost and so much more. Read excerpts:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aakash Kaushik (@aakashkaushik25)

How has been receiving all the love and laurels Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is getting?

“It has been very overwhelming. We were confident about our product honestly, but having said that, the kind of time that Hindi cinema is going through and the troll army and everything, I had just a little hesitation about what if it isn’t received as well. But God has been very kind, and critically and also number wise, we have got the love of everyone.”

Your film has been the one who has revived Hindi films at the box office. Do you feel a sense of pride in that?

“More than pride, I feel happy for the entire film industry. I have been rooting for all films that have been coming. No one wants to make a bad film and so many people put so much effort to make a film for such a long time, so I feel sad when they are dismissed. I can understand that you don’t like a film but the hate the Hindi films were getting was very disheartening and I feel very blessed that we could be the change for that. It’s a celebration of Hindi cinema.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aakash Kaushik (@aakashkaushik25)

Carrying on the legacy of a classic like Bhool Bhulaiyaa couldn’t have come without its own set of challenges…

“We were making the sequel to a cult classic, so it was not just about the expectation of the numbers but also of how it would be received as people loved the original. The challenge for me was to figure out how to keep the essence of Bhool Bhulaiyaa alive, while weaving an original story around it. I was aware of the responsibility on my shoulders and I can assure you that I have never worked as much on any script as I did on Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. Even during Covid, I kept thinking on how could I improve on the script, what changes I could make as the taste of the audience was changing.”

Mixing horror and comedy is a very successful formula in Hindi films now, but how does your mind works when it comes to this genre?

“It’s a very unique thing. If you see, horror and comedy are very opposite emotions, but their blend is amazing and I don’t know why. The biggest challenge is how you strike the right balance between the two. If a person is scared, how do you make them laugh and vice versa. So, I somewhat took inspiration from some of my real-life incidents as well and incorporated them in the story.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aakash Kaushik (@aakashkaushik25)

You worked with Farhad Samji again here. What is it about your working equation together that makes it so special and successful?

“Farhad bhai is like an elder brother to me and above that a fabulous human being. I am working with him on his future projects as well and while working together, our intentions are always towards what’s best for the film. If one of us writes a scene but finds the other’s version better, we will say it, that’s the kind of rapport we share. In Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, the entire story and screenplay are mine, Farhad bhai came later and he co-wrote the dialogues.”

While the film is called Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, apart from the name, Manjulika, Rajpal Yadav and a few songs, there isn’t much commonality between the first film and this. While writing it, were you ever sceptic about the naysayers who might see it as just encashing on Bhool Bhulaiyaa’s legacy?

“Honestly, I beg to differ because if you see the basic one liner of both the films, there is a purani haveli, a band kamra with a bhairon kavach on the door behind which there is touted to be a ghost named Manjulika and when the door gets opened, Manjulika wreaks havoc. More than just the names and the songs, there is more commonality between the two. My idea was to keep the essence of Bhool Bhulaiyaa with a fresh story.

A lot of people ask me that the first one was a psychological thriller, but you made this a horror comedy. I want to ask those people, when you had gone to watch Bhool Bhulaiyaa, didn’t you go inside the theatres thinking it’s a ghost film? The USP of that film was the twist at the end that there is no ghost. Now, that card had already been played so people were expecting there not to be a ghost in this part as well, but that fact had already been encashed. If I had gone down the same route, the audience would have been anticipating that throughout the film that now something like that will happen. So, I was very clear from Day 1 that this film has to have a ghost. It cannot be a psychological thriller.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aakash Kaushik (@aakashkaushik25)

As a writer, you are getting credit for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’s success, and similarly a lot of other writers are also getting the due recognition for their work. Do you see a positive change coming for the writers’ community in that regard?

“The change is happening, but it’s very gradual. It should have happened many years back. But even today, many writers don’t get their due credit. The script is the soul of the film, there is no debating that and that is not to undermine the work of any other departments, but writers need to be given a lot more credit.”

Also read: Kartik Aaryan’s savage reply to reports of him hiking his fee after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 success is every employee’s story