Bhootnath

The title of this movie is such that one would definitely scare the ones who dread horror movies and do not have the capability to tolerate sleepless nights. But, upon viewing nobody would classify it as one with mostly horror elements in it. It is mostly a comedy with a flavour of drama in it in the latter half Strengths: Awesome performance from the supporting cast: One problem many movies from our beloved Bollywood suffers from is that supporting cast entirely lets the main cast down. In this case, it is the complete opposite actually. I can see many viewers who are complaining about SRK's performance in this flick. I found him at his best even here as well. Yes, of course he did not deliver a performance like that of Devdas,Swades,Dil Se or Chak De! India but he puts his all in an extended cameo, makes his presence felt. Juhi Chawla is a breath of fresh air, an effortlessly hilarious mother who was so refreshingly good. She shows all the shades of a loving mother, starting from her funny behaviour, reluctance to cook and reprimanding when the situation arises. And last but not the least, Priyanshu of course was not at all a let down as well.

Conclusion : To be honest, as far as I am concerned the first half did have it's fair share of ups and downs which I will talk about later. But the conclusion is, in my opinion such a thoughtful one specially for the time, is extremely well executed as well. The song Samay Ke Pahiya stole my heart away. Till this song hit the big screen, I was absolutely dreading the music of the movie. It was a huge letdown and a massive hindrance to the enjoyment of the movie. But, Vishal-Shekhar thankfully saved the very best for the last. The song correctly played on the background of course, was so thought provoking and meaningful. It definitely hit my heart like a precisely aimed arrow and sent me into tears. The conclusion played a massive part in me elevating my rating to a more than respectable 7.

Message : People may say that such films depicting family values and being a support system for your dear ones had become cliche and has been tried one times too many in Bollywood flicks maybe starting from Big B starrer Sooryavansham in 1999 and carrying on maybe till date but this, personally for me is one of the best themes to base a movie on if well executed and Bhoothnath certainly executed the emotional part well and I feel the director as well as script writer's effort to please the adults with this came off fabulously well!

Direction : Considering this was his debut effort, Vivek Sharma is competent to say the least. He shows a concerted effort to toggle around amongst genres and the first half and hour breezes past. The first few minutes definitely give the vibes of a horror movie. Then, the introduction of Rajpal Yadav and her chemistry with Juhi Chawla is infectious, he really gets a chuckle out of people of all ages. He also is successful in extracting a superb performance from Banku, the vibrant little kid who I felt came up with the second best performance I saw from a kid after Bajrangi Bhaijaan's Munni.

Special effects,VFX,opening and closing credits: The concluding dialogues between the protagonists after the climax, and the way that the opening credits are introduced were surely ahead of their times. There were surely some computer expertise necessary to ensure the opening credits came out the way it did and hats off for that. Also, the special effects involved as Big B executes his repertoire of tricks were impressive for the time as well. As avid Bollywood fans know, Love Story 2050 tried something similar and failed miserably.

Weaknesses : Initial interactions between Banku and Big B : It was really very unusual to see such a small child, no matter how intelligent he was, first of all being absolutely unfazed by the ghost that late at night and easing his way past it. And also, he outwits a ghost with such tricks up his sleeve, showed a classic example of beauty without brains and that was not what the character was supposed to portray. Also, there remained an element of ambiguity that how all of a sudden the ghost warmed to Banku so much that he started playing with him.

Big B's inability to save Banku and also at the same time elongate his hand to help save someone else : Big B having the capability to achieve the impossible did not use his powers when it was needed the most and he at the same time, elongated Banku's hands to help him save his rival in spite of knowing that the guy was conspiring against him to throw him into that pit and also Banku was so forgiving and that too within an instant and without too much appeasing was surprising to say the least. This is not a trait relatable to a kid as far as I have seen.

Yet another good performance from the indefatigable Amitabh Bachchan - the man has had such high standards over the decades and has generally kept up to them. This very moral tale was apparently inspired by Caspar but seems to me to owe slightly more (in spirit) to The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (Hollywood, 1947).

A family move into a house haunted by friendly old ghost Amitabh, who strikes up a warm and honest relationship with their son Aman. There's plenty of genuine family entertainment with a few nice songs and it starts out very well but the film eventually gets bogged down in vapid sentimentality, albeit always with a high moral tone. Avuncular Amitabh is the only reason to stay to the end, to see him go through every conceivable emotion, although one of my favourite pieces was Samay Ka Pahiya sung at the climax. I felt it when he fell all the way down the stairs even if he didn't! SRK had a minor part, but as with the main players was not well-used - only chubby Aman shone in his special relationship with the ghost. And some nice photography with faultless production.

So, fairly good but not particularly memorable - a pleasant way to fill a couple of hours.

I loved it. I was 8 then when I did watch this. nostalgic

I was totally surprised by this movie even though I had watched some of the promos. In a way, this is not a typical BR Chopra film and yet in a way it is - a simple film portraying a simple story.

Anjali Sharma, with her husband, Aditya, who works on cruise liner and their son, move to Goa and when they inform several taxi drivers as to where they want to go, all except one, refuse to take them. Enroute to the house, the driver informs them that the house is haunted and soon Aditya has to go to work, leaving Anjali to set up everything and including sending their son to a nearby school. One night, upon waking up, she sees her son looking for an ice cream bowl that he dropped only moments back. He even tells her that he has seen a ghost. But soon the ghost and the little boy become friends.

The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Satish Shah, Rajpal Yadav, Lalit Parasher and both Priyanshu and Shah Rukh Khan make a friendly appearance. This is produced by Ravi Chopra and is directed by Vivek Sharma.

This movie, to an extent, has the echoes of "Baghban" where family drama is concerned and is a good comedy where the friendship between the boy and the ghost, as well as Rajpal Yadav and Satish Shah are concerned. But the friendship between the ghost and the son is more like a relationship between a grandson and grandfather. Besides the director, Vivek Sharma, roping in two of the most popular Bollywood stars, in his directorial debut, what is really interesting the family drama angle of the story - its not just for children as some have suggested or as some think, its also for adults.

The music by Vishal - Shekhar is quite melodious and worth listening and more so when Amitabh sings.

Conclusion: This is one movie that is worth while watching with family, including children. But if a family drama does make you cry, then I suggest you take some tissues with you.

At 66 you don't expect an Indian actor to romp in skull Caps, Cargo Pants and Designer goggles.But he does it and carries it off with finesse even while playing a lovable Bhoot(ghost) to an 8 year old..The camaraderie between Amitabh and Aman, the kid,is just so lovable that you wouldn't want this to end and even when your eyes are moist you still would be loving it.. A simple story told in even simpler format by Vivek Sharma touches your strings. The music is okay, so is the cinematography but what stands out is the chemistry between the duo and its fun to see an 8 year old standing and matching shoulders with the greatest actor of all times..But, in any case it's a movie worth watching this summer and might provide for some good lessons on forgiveness. As for parents, watch out for the athletic meet scene where Amitabh explains that success can be achieved only by hard work and not magic- A good lesson to be learnt...And yeah Juhi Chawla is good and so is Shahrukh Khan who is there for a few scenes..

Go watch this at least its far better than the so called mindless movies dished out..Do take a few tissues with you..You might just need them but wouldn't mind nevertheless..