Kartik Aaryan on stepping into Akshay Kumar’s shoes in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: ‘Comparison naa he kare toh better hai’

Kartik Aaryan along with his co-star Kiara Advani and director Anees Bazmee launched the trailer of the upcoming horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in Mumbai on Tuesday. The film is a sequel to 2007 Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa, which was helmed Priyadarshan.
Following the trailer launch, while interacting with the media, Kartik was asked if he felt any pressure as he stepped into Akshay Kumar’s shoes. Akshay played the lead in the original, the role of a ghost hunter and psychiatr.
Kartik, however, bowed out of any comparison. “I didn’t want to do that comparison, because those shoes are too big to fill. I loved him in Bhool Bhulaiyaa; I have grown up watching his films. So comparison naa he kare toh better hai (it’s better if one doesn’t do that comparison). I love him as an actor. We have tried to do our best here. Of course, the title is (same), but the character, there are things which create that nostalgia.”

He said that a lot of components in the film are new. “We have taken that world (of the previous film) but everything else is new, of our own. I hope people will love it in its own new dynamic world that we have created with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. Comparisons will be there, but hope people remember this film for what it is,” he added.
Kiara, who plays the role of Manjulika in this iteration, said Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is a franchise not a sequel. “This is a franchise, not a remake, so I’m not really playing that character (essayed Vidya Balan in the original). Yes, there is a Manjulika, but I can’t give away the suspense of the film. I think they were the inspiration and we’ve tried to do our best for these characters that sir (Anees) has written for us,” she added.
Director Anees Bazmee confessed that making Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was a challenge, as it was not easy to match Priyadarshan’s vision while making sure that the film also looks different than the first one.
He said, “Akshay is a great actor and a good friend, we have done a couple of films together. Vidya had done a great job in the first film. I wish there was a scope to get both of them in the film in a guest appearance, it would have naturally benefited us. But the script didn’t give that opportunity. If they were together in this film, it would have been a happy occasion. But in this film, we have worked on a different kind of script. Except for Rajpal Yadav, everyone is new. If they were in the film, it would’ve been good… But once you watch all of them, you’ll feel ek tarah se theek he hua. We have attempted to make a different film.”
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is scheduled to release in theatres on May 20.