Phone Bhoot is a bunch of set pieces — some of them funny, some trying too hard to be funny — strung together to make a film that does bring on the belly laughs every now and then, but fails to come together as a cohesive whole. This is a film which is self-aware, draws generously from pop culture and knows that being absurd lies in its DNA. It’s only when it gets absurdly stupid, which is approximately the last 30 minutes and then some more, that Phone Bhoot reveals the holes in its writing and overstays its welcome.

Which is a disappointment, given that Phone Bhoot starts off strong, referencing everything from Ghostbusters (which forms the very core of the film) to ’80s and ’90s kitsch Hindi comics. Ishaan Khatter — who goes by Ishaan in the credits — and Siddhant Chaturvedi bring some mad chemistry to the screen, starring as two good-for-nothing losers who aspire to start a ghostbusting business. While Galileo aka Gullu’s (Ishaan) south Indian dad wants him to become a scientist, Major’s (Siddhant) rambunctious Punjabi father wants his son to join the army. The two, of course, will have none of it, only dreaming day and night about hobnobbing with bhoot, pishach, chudail and other esteemed members of the spirit community.

That Gullu and Major are serious about their spooky business is evident from their lair which is a dream (or is it a nightmare?), decorated with posters that stream Cheekhti Deewaar and Bandh Darwaza, while their closest ‘pal’ is a life-sized replica of the red-eyed monster from the infamous Ramsay films.

However, everything that they have touched so far has been a big disaster, whether it’s starting a restaurant called ‘Rest in Pieces’, turning up dressed as ghosts at a kids’ birthday party or starting a channel called ‘Bhoot Tube’ to which the two were the only subscribers. As they stumble through life without plan and purpose, they ‘meet’ Ragini (Katrina Kaif), a bhoot with a business deal that they hope will provide a fillip to their ambition of being ghostbusters. Thus starts their dial-a-ghostbuster business called ‘Phone Bhoot’ and the two vroom from one spooky venue to another in their car that’s imaginatively named ‘anti-pishachik unit’

The first half of Phone Bhoot, though incoherent and long-drawn-out in parts, is largely fun. From Gullu and Major being mistaken for pest-control reps because of their ghost-hunter gear to director Gurmmeet Singh and writers Ravi Shankaran and Jasvinder Singh Bath infusing the drama with some fun pop-culture references, it does work to a great extent. I did guffaw out loud at that scene where Katrina’s Ragini drinks mango juice, inspired by her famous Slice ad, as well as the Fukrey gang and the Mirzapur theme song popping up — Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment is the money and muscle behind all these projects.

There is also a ‘freelance’ ghost named Chikni Chudail — Sheebha Chaddha is a hoot in a role that clearly references Bhool Bhulaiyaa’s Monjulika — who wants a ‘stable corporate job’ and Jackie Shroff as a spirit-trapping boss muttering ‘bhidu’, who, to be honest, is so self-referential that the initial laughs die down after a while. It’s then that both the spook (which Phone Bhoot has too little of anyway) and the spoof starts getting repetitive.

For all its fun and games and crazy chemistry between its actors — Katrina has lesser screen time than her co-stars, but sparkles when she is on screen — Phone Bhoot is too long, its 137-minute running time weighed down by a nonsensical, anything-goes climax that predictably moves into typically Bollywood mumbo-jumbo territory. There is a hint of a sequel, but one that we aren’t too kicked about.

Phone Bhoot (U/A)

Director: Gurmmeet Singh

Cast: Katrina Kaif, Ishaan, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Jackie Shroff, Sheeba Chaddha

Running time: 137 minutes