Is Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’s Manjulika Real Ghost Of A Kerala Dancer?(Photo Credit – YouTube)
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Was Manjulika real? This is a question that has been asked on the internet for 10 thousand times ever since Vidya Balan turned into Manjulika on-screen for Bhool Bhulaiyaa in 2007. Vidya played a girl named Avni, who lived in London and came back to India with her husband to his royal roots. But things turn drastically when she encounters the story of a royal dancer, Manjulika!
Who Was Manjulika?
Manjulika was a dancer in the court of a king who was in love with the dancer. But she was in love with her fellow dancer Shashidhar, and the king could not tolerate this rejection. He killed Shashidhar to conquer Manjulika, who in turn drank poison and took her life.
Was Manjulika Bengali?
No. The tale of Manjulika in Bhool Bhulaiyaa is fictional and has been adapted to suit the sensibilities of the North Indian audiences. However, the tale or the original story of Bhool Bhulaiyaa is not entirely fictional and has its roots to connected to Kerala!
The Real Manjulika & The Tale Of Kochu Kunju Channar
Bhool Bhuliayaa is a remake of a Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu that is based on a tragedy that happened in a Ezhava tharavad, the Alummoottil meda (an old traditional mansion), located at Muttom belonging to a central Travancore Channar family, in the 19th century.
The writer of Manichitrathazhu was a member of the Channar family, and he has taken inspiration from the murder that happened in the royal court of Travancore. The murder of Kochu Kunju Channar inspired the story of the film. However, the motive behind the murder was purely financial, and no one called Manjulika was involved. Some folklore mention the involvement of a royal dancer who helped conspire the murder.
But even if Manjulika was a dancer, at least she was not Bengali and did not want to kill the Dushto Raja on Durga Ashtami. If she was for real, she belonged to a court in Kerala!
