Bhooth Bangla (2026): Cast, Story & OTT Details

Bhooth Bangla is a horror comedy set around a haunted mansion. It reunites Akshay Kumar with director Priyadarshan, marking the director's second Hindi horror comedy after Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007).

Release date and status

Bhooth Bangla released on 17 April 2026. Release markets: India (theatrical), worldwide. Language: Hindi.

• 2 April 2026 – Originally scheduled: Initial date
• 15 May 2026 – Postponed: Moved to avoid a clash with Dhurandhar: The Revenge
• 10 April 2026 – Preponed: Date brought forward
• 17 April 2026 – Released: Final theatrical date

OTT release

The film began streaming on Netflix on 12 June 2026.

Cast and crew

• Director: Priyadarshan
• Music: Pritam, Ronnie Raphael
• Cast: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Jisshu Sengupta, Mithila Palkar, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Asrani

Production history

Akshay Kumar announced Bhooth Bangla with a motion poster on his 57th birthday in September 2024. It is his seventh film with Priyadarshan and their first in 14 years, since Khatta Meetha (2010), and Priyadarshan's second Hindi horror comedy after Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). Rohan Shankar, Abilash Nair and Priyadarshan wrote the screenplay from a story by Aakash Kaushik, drawing on Indian mythology and black magic. Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani were confirmed at the announcement, Wamiqa Gabbi joined as female lead in October 2024, Tabu and Mithila Palkar in January 2025, and Jisshu Sengupta in March 2025.

Filming began in Mumbai in December 2024 and moved to Jaipur in January 2025, at locations including Galtaji temple, Sisodiya Rani Bagh and Chomu Palace, where Priyadarshan had also shot Bhool Bhulaiyaa. The climax was shot in April 2025 on a palace set built by art director Sabu Cyril at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. Other locations included London, Kochi and Chennai. The shoot wrapped in May 2025 with a song featuring Kumar and Gabbi.

Trailer and music

A second motion poster came out in February 2026, and Kumar and Gabbi began promotions in Nashik that month. The teaser was shown to fans on 11 March 2026, a day before its official release, and the trailer followed on 6 April 2026. Pritam composed the songs to lyrics by Kumaar, with rights held by Zee Music Company. The singles were "Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge" (26 February 2026), "Tu Hi Disda" (24 March), which Arijit Singh reportedly asked to sing despite having announced his exit from playback singing, and "O Sundari" (14 April).

Certification and runtime

The CBFC's Examining Committee asked for certain offensive terms to be replaced, a derogatory line about women to be changed and disclaimers about religion and superstition to be added. The film received a U/A 16+ certificate on 2 April 2026 at 174 minutes. The makers later made voluntary cuts, approved on 11 April 2026, bringing the runtime down to about 164 minutes.

Box office

Paid previews were held on 16 April 2026, the night before release. Wikipedia reports a worldwide gross of ₹247.28 crore, which makes it the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026.

Critical reception

Reviews were mixed; Rotten Tomatoes listed 15% of 13 critics' reviews as positive (average 4.7/10). Bollywood Hungama (3.5/5) called it a fair entertainer driven by humour and old-school Priyadarshan chaos, but said the second half loses steam because of a weak backstory and an overlong climax. Dhaval Roy of The Times of India (3/5) enjoyed the first half but wanted a tighter narrative and shorter runtime, and found some creatures and set pieces gimmicky. Sana Farzeen of India Today gave it 2.5/5.