Bhoothnath

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.

Frankly speaking after some big recent flops, I decided to leave all my expectations at home before watching "Bhoothnath". And what a pleasant and quality surprise it was. Director Vivek Sharma's debut movie is purely as per the tradition of BR films, who believe in simple family dramas told in a sober way. It is not a scary movie at all, but on the contrary it is a loving, emotional family movie, mainly for the kids.

As a cool breeze in the summer, here comes a novel script with a new outlook towards the "Atma" phenomenon. Don't expect a tried and tested formula, as the movie does have some fresh content with an emotional touch. The usual family drama is also there which can be termed as the trademark of BR films. But putting all together you will enjoy watching it with your family, especially with the kids.

The main character of the movie is a 8 year old "Aman Siddiqui" playing "Bonku" who becomes friend with the spirit in his house. Amitabh Bachhan plays the old man (the spirit) living in the house and is visible only to Bonku. The child Aman has given a splendid performance high on confidence. He has delivered an act at par with the veterans. Amitabh Bachhan has again proved that he is the "one & only" in the industry capable of giving such performances at this age. The people who gave comments about his retirement should start searching places to hide after seeing Bhoothnath.

Though the movie starts a little slow but then picks up fast as the spirit is introduced. The first scene of Bonku's interaction with Amitabh is well executed and has excellent special effects. The best scene comes before the interval when Bonku gets injured in an accident. This well written and brilliantly executed scene at once connects you with the key characters and you start enjoying the movie more.

The second half is heavy on emotions, but all the emotions are on the happy side. You enjoy the tears along with the happenings on the screen. The last 20 minutes of the movie are very well written and directed. The director is right on his tracks all the way and does a brilliant job in his first venture. He shows his hold over the medium as he talks to the point and has very less unwanted scenes in the script. It is clear that he doesn't believe in too much style but believes in content told in a simple but impressive way, without any gloss.

Performance wise, no doubt both Aman & Amitabh are at the top of the list. Juhi Chawla is fresh and bubbly as ever. Surprisingly Shahrukh Khan (in special appearance) gives a very soft and underplayed performance and manages to impress in the few scenes he had. There is one under-rated actor in the movie who shines bright in the climax and he is Priyanshu Chatterjee. He is a bundle of talent still waiting for the right opportunity to come his way and he proves this in his small role in the movie. Satish Shah is enjoyable as the School Principal but Rajpal Yadav is completely wasted as a mad man.

The weakest point of the movie is its music by Vishal & Shekhar. This is their second let down in a row after "Tashan". If only they had given some better songs, the movie would have been more enjoyable. Still it was nice to hear Amitabh & Juhi Chawla singing a song. Sukhwinder's voice was perfect in the climax song. And the act by Aman & Amitabh was of first rate in the song "Mere Buddy". They both look very cute together in the Hip –Hop avtar.

In nutshell, "Bhootnath" is an entertaining family movie, with two Amitabh's in it, one 8+ and one 60+. It looses point only due to its music.

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.

Debutant director Vivek Sharma's 'Bhoothnath' is a delightful treat to watch. His execution shows that he's among the promising directors. The camera-work is very impressive. The special effects are superb (something one hardly witnesses in an Indian film). Not only do they look great, they are very effectively used. What makes 'Bhoothnath' better than other films of its genre is that it appeals to both adults and children especially because of the comedy.

Viewers can easily connect to the characters as are very likable and very real. Anjali isn't just the stereotypical mother one has grown too familiar with in a children's film. She's a loving mother alright but one that hates to cook and one that's honest enough to the principal to tell him (in good humour) that her son is a 'nightmare'. Banku isn't your average filmy kid (and credit goes to the actor for that). He is the likable little brat one would recognize in themselves. And of course, there's 'Bhoothnath' who could have easily been a caricature but remains a well-defined character that is courageous, stubborn, vulnerable, caring and eventually friendly.

The writing is mostly good. The inspiration by films like 'Bogus', 'Casper' and 'The Sixth Sense' may show but 'Bhoothnath' is very much its own film. The dialogues are great and the film moves at a steady pace. However, the Ashish Chaudhury-Nauheed Cyrusi track could have better been left out. Their below-average acting give the impression that 'Bhoothnath' is just another cheesy horror film. That may have been Sharma's intention in order to surprise the viewer but I don't think it's necessary. The demonic daughter-in-law is a caricature that feeds the stereotype of Americans being careless towards family. There are a few plot holes. how is it that Bhoothnath can touch Banku at times but during a key scene, Banku is about to fall down the stairs but Bhoothnath is unable to save him because his hand moves through Banku's. Also, the whole death ritual track looks a bit out of place but at the same time this scene brilliantly displays Banku's innocence. Banku thinks that ritual is to celebrate Bhoothnath's birthday and he happily participates. Moreover this scene is wonderfully executed. The close-ups shifting back and forth from Amitabh's sad face (as he knows he'll never see Banku again) to Aman's thrilled face (as he thinks Bhootnath will be promoted to 'star' angel). Though things get more emotional in the second half, Sharma manages to balance it well with the rest.

I have to say that Amitabh Bachchan really blew me away as 'Bhoothnath'. I did not like him in any of his films post 1980something (with the exception of 'Baghban') but he totally owns Bhoothnath. There is one scene where he overacts but I suppose it's become his trademark to have at least one scene where he screams. Nonetheless, this flaw is very minor and can be overlooked given his otherwise consistent performance. His heartbreaking acting scene while he watches a happy Banku and his parents perform his 'last rites' reminded me of the exceptional actor he was in the 70s. Juhi Chawla is excellent as she brings charisma, devotion and liveliness to Anjali. Her Anjali is a laid-back woman but a caring mother. I don't understand why they people compared her to Aishwarya Rai's glycerin shedding performance in 'Umrao Jaan'. Whether she used glycerin or not in the crying scenes, she played her part very well and brought out Anjali's fear of losing her child and her sympathy for Bhoothnath. Last year there was 'Taare Zameen Par's Darsheel Safari and this year it is newcomer Aman Siddiqui who surprises the audience with a superb performance. Siddiqui simply acts like a child in a very natural way. He isn't one of those kids who overly tries to be cute, begging for the audience to go 'awww'. He too owns his part. Shahrukh Khan has a strong presence in a small role. He and Juhi have always been magic together on screen and it was great to see them play parents. Satish Shah and Rajpal Yadav are respectively hilarious as the 'bullying' principal and thief. All these actors share a good chemistry. While it's good to see Priyanshu Chatterjee after his absence from films, he is simply okay here.

Among the songs, I really liked the 'Aandhi' track, filmed on the children in their different get-ups. But, it was weird to see the little girls dressed as prostitutes. 'Chale Jaane Do' is a sweet track sung by Amitabh and Juhi. I didn't like the hip hop track 'Mere Buddy' so much.

In a nutshell, 'Bhoothnath' is one of the better films of the genre. Forget all those pretentious crap 'Krishh' and 'Koi Mil Gaya'. 'Bhoothnath' too may be a larger than life film but one that connects to both adults and children. In spite of a 2hour 15 minutes length, it didn't feel like a waste. Why should it if you're having fun?

The story of a good and friendly ghost portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh has given an astounding performance, but than his was a performance of his little co-star from Amitabh's own native town of Allahabad, Aman Sddiqui. This boy has a great future ahead. Juhi and Shahrukh did their cameos in a justified way.Rajpal Yadav was hilarious as usual. Music was good and soothing to the ears. The story line was not that strong, but if the movie was made to be targeting the "Krissh" audience and their guardians, we should not be complaining. The media publicity about the story changes in the end to make its sequel in the near future was a good way for keeping the kids happy and guessing for what would be their in the next version. Overall, deserves a watch with and for the kids during this summer vacations.