Bhoothnath Returns

The nation is plagued with the evils of corruption, greed and crime that are controlled by power-lords such as Bhau (Boman Irani). When the most testing time of elections comes around, these powers rise by making false promises to gullible voters and all hope is lost for the common man. Meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to salvage the reputation of ghosts, Bhoothnath Returns to scare a few kids and gain some credibility and thereby, moksha. While doing so, he must also fight injustice along with Akhrot (Parth) by taking on Bhau in the biggest battlefield, that is the Lok Sabha elections. The plot's absurdity is quickly forgotten with some pragmatic situations, realistic performances and credible viewpoints of the protagonist. An alternate plot would involve Amitabh Bachchan attempting to scare kids, making things really absurd.

After some initial bonding between the ghost and the kid, a mutually beneficial partnership between them ensures the clearance of other ghosts from abandoned construction sites until they confront complexities at whose source, they find Bhau. While the political goon prepares for elections, Bhoothnath is motivated by the common man's troubles and their inability to rise above them. Initially with Bhooth powers but later with ideologies, the publicly audible ghost initiates a movement of encouraging voter turnout and contests against Bhau to bring about a positive change. The result of the election is then left upon the wave of positivity among the public and their frustration with evil powers.

Director Nitesh Tiwari received acclaim for his Chillar Party and here too, he displays his ability to entertain with light hearted social stories. Topical as it may be, the plot engages with its sincere portrayal of righteous ideologies and practical governance. Not since Munnabhai has the audience witnessed such a fight against the system that also entertains on several fronts. However, that has its share of commonalities and predictability. Boman Irani gets a bit repetitive in his negative role while Parth Bhalerao is only convincing to some extent as his mavali character goes over the top. Sanjay Mishra as the consulting lawyer is excellent. Bhoothnath is perhaps the most human of ghosts around and Amitabh Bachchan makes enacting him look very easy.

Party with the Bhoothnath by Honey Singh and Party toh banti hai are the only songs that even Auto Rickshaws will bump to. Unfortunately, there isn't much more to credit the film-makers. While they haven't done anything wrong with the film they haven't done anything outstanding either. Simply because of its topical nature, the film is worth a lazy afternoon watch and it does carry an important message that a couple of major cities need to embrace in the future with regard to voter turnouts. Perhaps it does take an unreal ghost to tell us the simplest message and instill some common sense. Bhoothnath gets that message across pretty well with some song and dance mixed in.

• 6.88 on a scale of 1-10.

Few actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor have evolved themselves over the years with time and age like . I admire them since they can any play character with ease and utmost sincerity. Bhoothnath Returns comes in the right election time when half of the Indians will go out voting by next week.

After being humiliated and joked around from his ghost community, Bhoothnath must return to earth to scare any kid and earn back the respect from his fellow mates. Surprisingly, he again befriends a street- smart kid and the pair together stands up for election after learning about the corruption and evil plan of local builder cum politician Bhau.

Co-director of Chillar Party, Nitesh Tiwari chooses the right subject and theme with a noble message. As the continuation from the first part Bhoothnath (2008), Bhoothnath Returns begins with few hilarious scenes and follows the theme of election with right intention. The second half loses the steam and inclusion of songs hinders the momentum of the film. Fortunately, the film picks up the pace and climax ends with aplomb. Music is decent but could have been better. Cinematography and art direction is just about okay. The film belongs to three basic characters -Bhoothnath played brilliantly by the legend Amitabh Bachchan, Akhrot played superbly by Parth Bhalerao and Bhau essayed by supremely talented Boman Irani.

Bhoothnath works on three merits - terrific performance, right intention and fantastic direction. Good 3/5

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Tone, Script & Story: The story is how a bhooth (ghost) returns from bhooth world to India seeking second chance to fright people. One thing leads to another and the bhooth now is contesting for elections. I liked the script which highlights a dharavi child able to see this ghost followed by elements requirements to be a lok sabha election candidate.

The story highlights and follows factors related to election, mafias involved along with other type of candidate's. It shows why voting is important, what happens and what could happen.

Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: The locations consisting of under construction buildings, local slum, media and its components all stand justified.

Music: I would rate it as 'good'. My favorite track is 'Sahib'. Acting: One of the main reasons I like this movie is because of work done by 'Akhrot'. Other actors have acted really well too.

Final Verdict: What requires a ghost to stand in election followed by his companionship with a boy from slums is all a treat to watch.

Bhootnath Returns is a political satire where the ghost (Amitabh Bachchan) takes on a corrupt and dishonest politician and changes the society by contesting the elections. Amitabh Bachchan has played the role of a ghost in the best possible manner. The kid was a surprise to me. Even Mr Bachchan has said in his interview, ""Parth, who plays the little boy in Bhoothnath Returns is a commensurate performer, a mature artist and the hero of the film. Even seasoned professionals sometimes are unable to convincingly go through the gamut of emotions that this boy has in BR. He is an exceptional young man.") and I second that. On the other hand Boman Irani as Bhau is as promising as any other actor in the film. One thing which I really liked was cinematography and graphics. The Direction, music, acting, background score are all up to the mark. If you are a true Bollywood lover and Bachchan fan, this movie is certainly for you.

DON'T MISS IT!!!!!

"Trailer hit hai to picture hit. Aur gaanaa hit hai to picture super hit."

Well the strength of Bhoothnath Returns are its dialog. Witty and apt. All set to become popular one liners for sometime. Movies about a person returning from the dead to the living world have either been mostly horror or comedy. But this particular installment has a message, almost like a satire to the affairs of the Government, media and lack of empathy to the common people. There are a couple of twists and turns in the story and finally we have ghost contesting national elections as an independent candidate and not using all the supernatural powers he has got. A common man...er a common ghost!

Superb performances by Big B, Parth (lookout for this kid!) and Boman (and almost everyone else) helps to make it an enjoyable watch. The camera work and music are commendable. Especially the 'Dharavi Rap'. Probably better than the popular 'Party' number.

Weaknesses? Well it drags at times. The movie is well around two and a half hours and it feels that the movie could have been edited better. Anyway a better watch than most of the other Hindi movies released around the same time, very topical and entertaining. 7/10.