For the 1965 film, see Bhoot Bungla.

Bhooth Bangla
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Priyadarshan
Screenplay by
  • Priyadarshan
  • Rohan Shankar
  • Abilash Nair
Dialogues by Rohan Shankar
Story by Aakash Kaushik
Produced by
  • Akshay Kumar
  • Shobha Kapoor
  • Ekta Kapoor
Starring
  • Akshay Kumar
  • Paresh Rawal
  • Jisshu Sengupta
  • Rajpal Yadav
  • Tabu
  • Wamiqa Gabbi
Cinematography Divakar Mani
Edited by M. S. Aiyappan Nair
Music by
  • Songs:
  • Pritam
  • Score:
  • Ronnie Raphael
Production
companies
Balaji Motion Pictures
Cape of Good Films
Distributed by Pen Marudhar
Release date
  • 17 April 2026 (2026-04-17)
Running time
164 minutes[1]
Country India
Language Hindi
Budget ₹120 crore[2][3]
Box office ₹63.87 crore[4]

Bhooth Bangla (transl. Haunted Mansion) is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language comedy horror film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Akshay Kumar, Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures and Cape of Good Films.[5][6] The film stars Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu and Wamiqa Gabbi.

It marks Priyadarshan's second Hindi-language horror comedy film following Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), both of which star Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, and Manoj Joshi. Bhooth Bangla was theatrically released on 17 April 2026.[7]

Cast

  • Akshay Kumar in a dual role as
    • Arjun Acharya, the son of Madhav and Yashodha
    • Madhav Acharya, Arjun's biological father and the son of Dushund Acharya
  • Paresh Rawal as Jagdish Manikchand Roopkamal Kewalramani, a wedding planner from Karol Bagh, Delhi, and Balli's maternal uncle.
  • Jisshu Sengupta as Dr. Vasudev Acharya, the adoptive father of Arjun and a theologian. He and Yashodha escaped from Mangalpur and got married; Meera is their daughter.
  • Rajpal Yadav as Sunder "Balli" Bajwa, an electrician, the maternal nephew of Jagdish Kewalramani.
  • Tabu as Yashodha, Arjun's mother and the daughter of Dushund Guruji's Calcutta-based friend, Jeetendra Bandhopadhyay. She was married to Madhav, and later to Vasudev; from her second marriage, she had a daughter, Meera. A dancer, she appears in flashback scenes.
  • Mithila Palkar as Meera Acharya, Arjun's half-sister, the daughter of Vasudev and Yashodha, who is married to Rahul.
  • Wamiqa Gabbi in a dual role as
    • Priya
    • Chitra
  • Asrani as Shantaram Yadav / Shambhu Babu, the manager of Acharya palace
  • Rajesh Sharma as Dushund Acharya, Madhav's father
  • Manoj Joshi as Govind Maharaj
  • Zakir Hussain as Vashisht Sharma, respectfully known as Vashisht Guruji
  • Bhavna Pani as Ragini
  • Perin Malde as Rahul
  • Manu Menon as Kali
  • Alexx O'Nell as Richard Gardener, a British lawyer
  • Abhishek Bharadwaj as Pandit Ram Shashtri, a disciple of Vashisht Guruji.
  • Chhaya Vora as Rahul's grandmother
  • Swatantra Bharat as Groom's brother in the bus

Production

Development

Bhooth Bangla was officially announced in September 2024 with a motion poster revealed by lead actor Akshay Kumar on his 57th birthday,[8] marking his seventh collaboration with director Priyadarshan, 14 years after Khatta Meetha (2010).[9] The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Akshay Kumar's production company, Cape of Good Films.[10] The film's screenplay was written by Rohan Shankar, Abilash Nair and Priyadarshan. Rohan Shankar also wrote the dialogues, while the story was developed by Akash Kaushik.[11]

Bhooth Bangla is a horror-comedy based on Indian mythology and black magic, with inspiration drawn from ancient texts such as the Vedas and the Mahabharata.

— Priyadarshan[12]

Casting

Following the film's announcement in September 2024, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, and Asrani—longtime collaborators of director Priyadarshan—were confirmed as part of the cast.[13] In October 2024, Wamiqa Gabbi was confirmed as the female lead.[14] In January 2025, Tabu and Mithila Palkar were added to the cast, with reports stating that Palkar would portray the sister of Akshay Kumar's character,[15][16] which was later confirmed by Kumar in his television game show Wheel of Fortune.[17] Palkar later revealed that Kalyani Priyadarshan had recommended her to director Priyadarshan, which helped her secure the role.[18] In March 2025, Jisshu Sengupta was confirmed to have joined the cast, with the announcement made by the makers on his birthday.[19]

Filming

Principal photography began in December 2024 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[20][21] The production later moved to Jaipur, Rajasthan in January 2025 for its next shooting schedule.[22] Portions of the film were shot at several locations, including Galtaji temple,[23] Sisodiya Rani Bagh[24] and Chomu Palace, a location previously used by Priyadarshan for his 2007 film Bhool Bhulaiyaa.[25][26]

The film's production design was handled by art director Sabu Cyril.[27] In April 2025, the makers shot the climax portions of the film in Hyderabad, where a large palace set was created at Ramoji Film City.[28][29]

The film was shot extensively in multiple locations including London, Jaipur, Kochi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.[30] Principal photography was completed in May 2025, with the shooting of a song sequence featuring Akshay Kumar and Wamiqa Gabbi,[31][32] with choreography by Pony Verma.[33] M. R. Rajakrishnan worked as the film's sound designer.

Soundtrack

Bhooth Bangla
Soundtrack album by
Pritam
Released 17 April 2026
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 16:40
Language Hindi
Label Zee Music Company
Pritam chronology
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari
(2025)		 Bhooth Bangla
(2026)		 Cocktail 2
(2026)
Official audio
Bhooth Bangla – Full Album on YouTube

The film's soundtrack album was composed by Pritam, with lyrics written by Kumaar.[34] The music rights were acquired by Zee Music Company. The first single titled "Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge", was released on 26 February 2026.[35] The song's music video was choreographed by Ganesh Acharya.[36] Its lyrics drew comparisons to those of the song "Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor" from Satyajit Ray's 1969 film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne.[37] The second single titled "Tu Hi Disda", was released on 24 March 2026.[38] According to reports, singer Arijit Singh, who had earlier announced his exit from playback singing, approached the makers to perform the track, saying that he felt a strong connection with the composition and believed he could bring the required emotional depth to the song.[39] The third single titled "O Sundari", was released on 14 April 2026.[40]

Track listing
No. Title Lyrics Singer(s) Length
1. "Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge" Kumaar, Mellow D Armaan Malik, Aarvan, Mellow D 3:55
2. "Tu Hi Disda" Kumaar Arijit Singh, Nikhita Gandhi 4:37
3. "O Sundari" Kumaar Vishal Mishra, Nakash Aziz, Antara Mitra 3:21
4. "O Ri O Sanwariya" Yatindra Mishra Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Prithvi Gandharv 4:47
Total length: 16:40

Marketing

As a part of the film's promotional campaign, several visual assets and motion posters were released ahead of its theatrical release. The first motion poster was unveiled in September 2024 to officially announce the film.[41] In February 2026, the makers shared an additional motion poster featuring lead actor Akshay Kumar seated on a throne.[42] Later that month, Kumar and Wamiqa Gabbi commenced the publicity tour in Nashik, Maharashtra, beginning with a college campus event that included an aerial entry and interaction with students.[43] The makers held a fan screening of the teaser on 11 March 2026,[44] one day before its official unveiling on 12 March.[45] Ahead of the trailer launch, large cutouts of Kumar holding lanterns were installed in cities such as Delhi and Jaipur.[46] The official trailer was released on 6 April 2026.[47]

Release

Theatrical

Bhooth Bangla was theatrically released on 17 April 2026. The release was subsequently delayed to avoid a box office clash with Dhurandhar: The Revenge.[7] Paid preview night shows were held on 16 April 2026.[48] It was initially scheduled to release on 2 April 2026,[6] before being postponed to 15 May 2026,[49] and later preponed to 10 April 2026.[50]

Certification

During certification, a few alterations were requested by the Examining Committee, such as the replacement of certain offensive terms and deletion of an inappropriate word in the subtitles near the end of the film. In addition to this, there was a derogatory line targeting women that needed change in the first half, along with certain disclaimers to be added concerning religious and superstitious.[51] Following this, the film received a UA 16+ certificate on 2 April 2026 by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)[52] in a total duration of 174 minutes. However, the makers later made further voluntary cuts, which were approved on 11 April 2026, reducing the runtime to approximately 164 minutes.[1]

Reception

Radhika Sharma of NDTV rated the film 2 out 5 and noted "Bhooth Bangla should serve as an example: if you wish to sell nostalgia, at least respect the audiences who have now grown up. Give them something to hold onto besides a dilapidated story structure that can't stand on its own, even on the foundation of nostalgia."[53] Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express rated 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "A couple of crucial slips never let the film recover. First off, the age shows: the supremely-fit Akshay was in his prime in ߗ now he is distinctly older than anyone else in the frame – Sengupta has to resort to heavy grey dye, but no way does he look to be Akshay’s dad; Palkar’s character is happy to marry into a family which is heavily superstitious — they get her married to a tree — that’s right, in ߪ and the worst is Gabbi’s cringey romantic track, with all that forced pouting."[54]

References

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