INDIA: Katrina Kaif starrer Phone Bhoot arrived on big screens this week. Given the trailer notion of Bollywood’s favourite genre nowadays, horror-comedy, the concept evoked some mixed vibe among the audience. So, let’s see does this film delivers an entertaining watch or falls straight into another tedious Bollywood film category.
The man in the director’s chair, Gurmmeet Singh, has created a world brimming with ghosts that place Bollywood-style Ghostbusters on the floor. For the unknown, the filmmaker has previously handled the popular crime drama Mirzapur, which gives us an idea of his creative vision.
Ishan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi’s Phone Bhoot provides decent comedy at certain points
Gurmmeet Singh’s directorial Phone Bhoot brings the comedic duo of Ishan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi. Both actors deliver a decent performance in comedic situations. The hilarious dialogues that surely give a dose of laughter become worthwhile only due to their acting skills and reactions to different situations.
On the other hand, Katrina Kaif also delivers a decent performance that is not outshining but suits the screen. Her character adds a serious touch to the comedic duo of Ishan and Siddhant, which maintains all the flavours of emotions in every scenario.
Phone Bhoot is filled with numerous references from multiple Bollywood films, which the makers use to add an entire comedic touch to the notion. The mentioned elements, at times, surely give hilarious punches. All the credit must be given to writers Ravi Shankaran and Jasvinder Singh Bath, as they have handled the comedy decently.
Tonnes of Bollywood references test our patience
Talking about the negative aspects, Phone Bhoot gives a suitable dose of comedy, but it lacks the depth of supernatural essence. The scary elements are rarely in any scene that drags miserably with the story. The notion struggles between weak character development and plot premise, which is evident from Jackie Shroff’s role as antagonist.
The storyline is illogical, which is okay as the film tries to sell itself on the basis of it, but at certain points, it starts to kill our viewing experience. The plot also feels unnecessarily stretched at the climax, where characters literally waste their time dealing with the antagonist to create a not-so-funny scene.
The first half of Phone Bhoot is quite sluggish and picks an interesting pace in the second, but in the climax, it completely turns into a mixed bag of errors. The supernatural comedy feature deliver an unsatisfying ending in which makers strongly try to deliver a funny and chaotic battle but fail to do so.
The too many Bollywood references till the climactic end suck the life of Phone Bhoot. The comedic elements in the first half give a decent dose of laughter and literally becomes a force-feeding element at the end, which in certain situations, test our patience.
Verdict:
Katrina Kaif, Ishan Khattar, and Siddhant Chaturvedi starrer Phone Bhoot provide a decent recipe of comedic elements, but the tonnes of Bollywood references and weak storyline tries to eliminate the entrainment value.
Bonus mention: Phone Bhoot has a cameo of the actors from Excel Entertainment’s comedy film.
Transcontinental Times rating: 2.9/5
Also Read: Vikram Vedha Review: Hrithik and Saif Brings Their A-game to the Bollywood Remake
