The teaser for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, the much-awaited horror comedy, was released a few weeks ago. The trailer release is now upon us as well as the film picks up pace for its Diwali release promotional campaign. In between it all, the film's director Anees Bazmee sat down to chat with HT about the threequel, expectations from it, the horror comedy genre, and the return of the OG Manujilka Vidya Balan.

Anees Bazmee on shooting Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 stars Kartik Aaryan and Triptii Dimri, bringing Vidya Balan from part 1, and also bringing into the mix Madhuri Dixit. Talking about the chatter for the film, Bazmee quips, "I love that there is buzz for the film. After all, Bazmee ki film ka toh buzz hona hi chahiye (there should be buzz for Bazmee's film)."

The filmmaker reveals that he shot the film with a broken leg, with people carrying him around the set. A week or 10 days before the shoot, I broke three bones in my leg and I had to get surgery. The doctors advised me bed rest for six months. But I felt if I stay in bed, I won't get better. We had targetted one-and-a-half years ago that we wanted to release it on Diwali and I didn't my injury to ruin that. So, I told the producers that we should start on time. And they were shocked," he recalls.

Talking about the challenges of shooting like that, Bazmee says, "When we shot on the second or third floor, climbing those stairs was impossible for me. Three people would pick me and carry me there. I must applaud the members of my unit for that."

The first Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a remake of the Malayalam classic Manichitrazhu, was a psychological thriller starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, and Shiney Ahuja. For part 2, Bazmee chose the horror comedy route, bringing in paranormal elements and a whole new cast. Part 3 follows the same pattern. Explaining the choice, the filmmaker says, "The first film was made beautifully by Priayadarshan ji and Akshay had done amazing work there. So, I did not want to go the psychological thriller route because I wanted it to be different. Then, when we started working on the script, the basic beats were more horror than thriller. So, I felt that shifting the genre back to psychological thriller would be cheating with the script."

On Vidya Balan's return as Manjulika

There is some element of part 1 in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 though. Vidya Balan is returning to reprise her iconic role of Manjulika. "The best thing that could have happened for this film was the return of Vidya Balan," Bazmee says, adding, "She is a great actress and I have always loved her work. When I narrated the story to her, she immediately said she wanted to do this. The way she has worked here, the way her character has shaped up, fans will be more than happy to see her back." As an afterthought, he adds, "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is muc bigger and better than the previous film. The fans will be happy."

The fans were thrilled at the return of the franchise as well as Vidya. However, the teaser did not go down well with some. Anees Bazmee is receptive of that. He says, "We had a teaser, and now the trailer, where we showed some of the things. Some things we will show only in the film. There is always a time for everything. There are some people who haven't liked the teaser trailer. I think that everyone has their own way of thinking. It is very difficult to analyse any film - not just Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 - based on 2-3-minute teaser or trailer. It is a miracle and not one that I can perform."

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is slated to release in theatres on November 1. The horror comedy will be releasing alongside Rohit Shetty's Singham 3 in a mega battle of the threequels at the box office this Diwali.

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