Anees Bazmee on the idea of bringing Akshay Kumar and Kartik Aaryan for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 4: It is a fantastic idea

There’s been a lot of buzz around the next instalment of the horror comedy franchise, Bhool Bhulaiyaa (BB). Recently, director Anees Bazmee expressed excitement about working on Bhool Bhulaiyaa 4, after the massive success of the previous film which had released a year ago. When we reached out to Bazmee, he said, “The work on the story has not begun, but since we made BB2 and BB3, we must make BB4. Talks are on, but nothing concrete has happened yet. Kartik Aaryan as Rooh Baba has created a strong image. Toh Kartik toh hona hi chahiye.” When asked if there’s a possibility of bringing together both the Bhool Bhulaiyaa leads — Akshay Kumar (who helmed the original) and Kartik — for the next installment, Bazmee said, “This is a fantastic idea. Beech mein Bhushan Kumar (producer) aur meri baat hui thi and we discussed if we could make it happen. Akshay in that orange attire and Kartik in that black one pitted against each other would be really good,” he revealed. The Bhool Bhulaiyaa series, known for its perfect blend of laughter and spine-chilling moments, first began in 2007 with Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa, starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan. The film became a cult favourite for its psychological twist and memorable performances, especially Vidya’s turn as Manjulika and Akshay’s iconic role as Dr. Aditya Shrivastav. Years later, the franchise was revived with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), directed by Anees Bazmee and headlined by Kartik Aaryan as Rooh Baba. The film proved to be a blockbuster, blending fresh humour with nostalgic elements from the original. The success of BB2 cemented Kartik’s image as the new-age Rooh Baba and revitalised the horror-comedy genre in Bollywood. Following that, Bazmee and producer Bhushan Kumar did BB 3 in 2024, with Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit as leads.