A newly released track from Akshay Kumar’s upcoming horror comedy Bhooth Bangla appears to tip its hat to a Bengali cinema classic.

The song Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge, dropped by Zee Music Company on Thursday, has echoes of Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor from Satyajit Ray’s 1969 film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne.

In Ram Ji Aake Bhala Karenge, composed by Pritam, Akshay Kumar is seen dancing and rapping through a series of sequences where he introduces different kinds of ghosts.

During one segment, he names narr bhoot, mada bhoot, seedha bhoot, sada bhoot. Later in the rap, he mentions jeeja bhoot, saala bhoot, andha bhoot, kaana bhoot. bhai bhoot, behna bhoot, tota bhoot and maina bhoot also find a reference in the lyrics.

This will immediately remind listeners of the song Bhooter Raja Dilo Bor, where Goopy (Tapen Chatterjee) and Bagha (Rabi Ghosh) celebrate after receiving three boons from the Bhooter Raja, or King of Ghosts.

As they roam through fields in jubilation, the duo describe various kinds of ghosts to underline the king’s magnanimity. The song includes references to baba bhoot, chhana bhoot, khonra bhoot, kaana bhoot, kancha bhoot, paka bhoot, roga bhoot, mota bhoot, adha bhoot and gota bhoot, among others.

Bhooth Bangla marks the reunion of director Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar after several years. The cast also includes Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, Jisshu Sengupta, Mithila Palkar and Wamiqa Gabbi.

The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ektaa R Kapoor under the Balaji Telefilms banner, in association with Akshay Kumar’s Cape of Good Films. Faara Sheikh and Vedant Baali serve as co-producers.

The story has been written by Akash A Kaushik. The screenplay is by Rohan Shankar, Abilash Nair and Priyadarshan, with dialogues by Rohan Shankar.

Bhooth Bangla is scheduled to release in theatres on April 10.