'Bhoot Police' movie review: Staggering narrative on a fresh premise

Directed by Pawan Kripalani, the horror-comedy movie, Bhoot Police, makes its intentions clear right from the outset. Vibhooti (Saif Ali Khan) and Chiraunji (Arjun Kapoor) are two brothers making money by posing themselves as exorcists and banking on people's beliefs on spirits and supernatural forces.

The younger brother Chiraunji is keen on following their father's legacy and he fans his genuine interest in tantric scriptures. But the elder brother Vibhooti never takes the religious aspects of their vocation seriously.

They together carry out raids on several haunted sites and possessed people. While they uncover the deception of their targets, the beliefs of people around them are left untouched as that is what gives them the room to dupe people further and reap riches.

Vibhooti and his brother have always been successful in stripping the guise wherever they go until they encounter a very complex and tough challenge and that makes the crux of the story.

By pitching an unusual premise of exorcism and tantric practices the movie promises a fresh treatment for a Hindi movie of late. The narrative gathers momentum with the progress of the story and humour elements strewn here and there.

However, the plot encounters grinding halts on several occasions with the attempts to make it hilarious. But that's the only way to do it here.

Jacqueline Fernandez and Yami Gautam are equally important in the plot in terms of dramatic progression. There are enough incidents to frighten the wits out of you and the music plays a big part in it.

Saif's performance backed by years of experience and Arjun Kapoor's well-mannered nuances make Bhoot Police watchable, but just once.

(The movie is available on Disney Plus Hotstar)