Phone Bhoot (2022) :
Movie Review -
Katrina Kaif stars as a sexy bhoot, and Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi star as bhoot catchers in the Gurmmeet Singh extra-large comedy, "Phone Bhoot." The horror comedy genre was uplifted by Amar Kaushik's "Stree" (2018), and since then everyone is dying to make a film like that. Some have actually died as filmmakers during the process. Be it Roohi, Bhoot Police, or the recent blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, none of the films could match even half of Stree. It's a fact and very fair to say that just because Amar made Stree, we have started expecting every horror comedy to be that good, which is not practically possible and didn't happen in the past either. James Whale's landmark horror comedy, "The Old Dark House" (1932), or Abbott & Costello's comedies with horror legends like Frankenstein, the Werewolf, and Dracula have been memorable and unbeaten for decades, so we can't expect this modern generation of filmmakers, who are influenced by their past projects, to tap into that. Phone Bhoot is one such attempt, in which Gurmmeet has tried to be extra funny with an overuse of spoofs, and at the same time he wanted to take care of children's-oriented comedy too. That's a mess, or rather, that's the only thing that causes mega destruction to this wannabe healthy ghost comedy.
Phone Bhoot starts off with two friends, Gullu (Ishaan Khatter) and Major (Siddhant Chaturvedi), trying to be famous Ghostbusters. Their attempts flop continuously, but then one day, a sexy ghost called Ragini (Katrina Kaif) comes up with a business idea. Reluctant to accept the offer in the first meeting, Gullu and Major are forced to team up with her for their own good. The Phone Bhoot Gang emerges as a saviour for many and becomes famous, only to generate a deadly enemy, Atmaram (Jackie Shroff). Will Gullu and Major be able to help Ragini, and defeat the powerful Atmaram? Phone Bhoot will answer your calls.
On the positive side, Phone Bhoot is actually funny on many occasions. The film has subtle humour reflecting intellectual jokes that are hard to catch or sometimes appear late in your mind. The only problem is that it tries to be the same in every single minute of the film, be it an emotional scene, a conflict, action, or even a song. You can't be so repetitive with your most loved part because then it becomes cliche. Out of 100 lines, a film can have 40 or at most 50 lines, and the rest of the parts are left to connect the audience with characters, an introduction, drama, romance, or whatever the genre is. Even in the thriller genre, you can't be suspenseful all the time because you are making a feature film and not a short. That's the basic rule. Gurmmeet Singh's horror comedy keeps it away from his ghost universe, hence causing its own destruction. The screenplay is tight, though. It may be repetitive and annoying on a few occasions, but never boring.
When it comes to performances, Ishaan and Siddhant seem to have a ball. Ishaan was never so funny, even in his media interviews (that's the funniest version of his I've ever experienced). He has quite a peculiar character to play here, and despite many flaws in the writing, he has done a good job. Siddhant is still waiting for the kind of magic he spread in "Gully Boy" (2019), but with Phone Bhoot, he seems to have gotten a break for himself. Major is not a regular funny character, man; it's one level up from that definition you have in mind. The sexy looks of Katrina Kaif will definitely kill you, if not her bhootiyagiri. Jackie Shroff just comes and behaves like what he is - a bindass bhidu. I am not sure if Sheeba Chaddha has ever looked so annoying in a film, and the supporting cast is not that good either.
Phone Bhoot has a decent music album, but the video songs are smartly choreographed. Ganesh Hegde has taken us back to Govinda's "Money Hai Toh Honey Hai" dance form with "Kinna Sona." The earlier portion of "Kaali Teri Gutt" is so good. Especially Ishaant has gone crazy there, and it's somewhat funny too. The cinematography, editing, and VFX fare at a below-par level. Gurmeet has studied a lot about horror legends, maybe. He mixes all the pop culture references, old horror comics, modern thoughts, social media and WhatsApp jokes, and even the technology into making one film. That's quite confusing, for him and for the audiences as well. I saw the entire film but still couldn't make out if the "RAKA" was a sculpture/idol of Boris Karloff from Frankenstein or Anirudh Agarwal from "Bandh Darwaja" (1990). Gurmmeet goes over the top with everything in the film, causing an alternate fall to his own building. As a whole, Phone Bhoot builds a decent structure out of multiple designs but forgets the basic engineering rules. Who knows; it was made for ghosts, not the audience.
RATING - 4/10*
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