Bhoot Police: Nothing To Laugh About

I have  often wondered which is  more dangerous: the horror  genre  which takes  the supernatural seriously  or  the horror-comedy genre which  mocks  the supernatural genre. Bhoot Police tries to turn the business  of supernaturalism into  a  funny business. I sat through  the  trailer  twice  hoping to  come away with at  least one  giggle or one titter  .

Nothing!  Saif Ali Khan who is normally funny when he  doesn’t try too hard, is seen straining  for laughter.Firstly , what’s with that accent, dude? Is it meant to be Bihari?  Or something more outlandish? That swaggering I-am-too-cool-to-be-anyone’s-fool rusticity   compounded with Arjun Kapoor as a  companion in his  creepiness makes Bhoot Police look like  a distant cousin of Stree.

The trailer exudes  a leery  lasciviousness  . The way Saif looks at  and talks to  Yami Gautam  and  Jacqueline Fernandez is  creepy, and not in  scary but a disturbing way.  The trailer shows scant respect  for  men or women. The trailer is  a  snarling  insult to good taste  , best  served  hot and  only for  those who think tantriks  are  a funny breed.

Didn’t Saif play an unfunny tantrik  in  Tumbadd? Is he trying to  countermand  the  damage?

Andh  vishwas is  amusing only when explored  by  rational  minds. I am afraid that  doesn’t seem the case  here.If after  Tandav  , Saif seeks  salvation in  tantra-mantra then Bhoot Police may not be  the  ideal  way of getting there.

Final verdict on  the trailer: not  funny , not scary.  Just  weird.