The trailer for Sanjay Dutt-starrer horror comedy The Bhootni was launched by the makers on Saturday (March 29) in Mumbai. Formerly titled The Virgin Tree, the film revolves around a tree sprite, played by Mouni Roy, that attacks virgin boys on Valentine’s Day. 

The horror comedy is written and directed by Sidhaant Sachdev. Besides Dutt and Roy, the film also stars Sunny Singh, Palak Tiwari and Aasif Khan. Content creator Nikunj Lotia, better known as Beyounick, makes his Bollywood debut in the film. 

The film centres on a college that is annually beset by the ghost of ‘the virgin tree’. To rid their beloved campus of its ’haunted’ tag, the students enlist the help of Baba (Sanjay Dutt), a former student played who became a famous ghostbuster (Baba is also Dutt’s nickname in the film industry). The trailer combines comic and romantic moments with flashy CGI action/horror sequences. Mouni Roy, channeling her vast ouvre of supernatural turns, sparks up the screen as the aggrieved ‘bhootni’. 

Hindi horror comedies have proved a cash-cow with the success of the Stree and Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchises. At the launch event of Bhootni, the makers assured that the film has a fresh take on the genre, as it centres on a college in a metropolitan city.

Sanjay Dutt, 65, has done all his stunts himself in the film, revealed director Sidhaant Sachdev. “He has leaped from 40 feet without a body double,” Sachdev shared, praising the actor’s commitment to action filmmaking. 

“I have been doing action for the last 40 years,” Sanjay Dutt said at the launch. “The power of lord Shiva and his shiv tandav powered me during the shoot. We used to shoot till 5 am in the morning. Only the lord knows how we did it.” 

The Bhootni will release in theatres on April 18, 2025.