I must admit, with this horrible dry spell that has taken over the Bollywood box office, and the synopsis of this film, it took a bit of convincing to get my gal pals to watch this film with me. I can hear myself saying, “Well, it stars Amitabh, Juhi, AND Shah Rukh Khan” (ok maybe I was really trying to convince myself). Whatever the case was, I’m glad we went because Bhoothnath ended up being a solid entertainer.
Before I divulge any information on the story, characters, music, etc., I have to say that, to my surprise, product placement is alive and well in Bollywood, and can be found almost shamelessly throughout the first half of this film. Chawla’s character “Anjali” plays the domestically challenged mother to the “chaar foot do inch” hero of the film “Banku” (Siddiqui), and is constantly feeding her family sandwiches and other snack-like foods as meals. In one scene Anjali is unpacking what looks like at least two aisles from the snack section of Foodworld out of her boxes. Products ranging from Kraft, Pepsi, Frooti, and even Chawla’s endorsed Kukure Chips, were never too far from the camera’s line of sight. Brilliant! Now if any of the above sponsors would like to contact me for further mention, please get my contact info under the staff section of this site (how’s that for shameless? *wink *wink).
Now on to the story . . .
The “Sharmas,” a family of three, move to beautiful Goa, and rent a house that the locals consider to be occupied by a ghost. Dad “Aditiya” (SRK) is always on the road (or luxury cruise liner) for his job, and two days into the move he leaves wife Anjali and seven year old son Banku to unpack and settle into their new home. Banku is the typical chubby angel faced boy next door, who looks innocent but has a naughty side. After hearing rumors around town about his house, Banku asks his mom what a bhooth (ghost) is. Banku’s mom gives a perfect answer suitable for a seven year old with a curious but potentially frightened mind that there are no such things as bhooths, just angels. Then when asked what an angel was, Banku’s mom tells him, angels are like his grandfather, someone that is no longer on Earth, but still loves you and watches over you. Now I know what you are thinking . . . Amitabh is the boy’s dead grandfather that comes back in bhooth-like form for some reason or the other but that, readers, is false.
Unlike a lot of the preview articles for the film stated, the Big B or “Kailash Nath” a.k.a. Bhoothnath is not in fact Banku’s grandfather, but the previous owner of the house, whose untimely death left his atma, or spirit, connected to his home. After years of scaring potential tenants away from Naath Villa, Bhoothnath meets his match in Banku, who, after his mom’s explanation on ghosts, considers Bhoothnath to be his angel.
The first half of the movie is filled with youthful enthusiasm that will have both the young and young at heart smiling and giggling in their seats. The special effects were simple yet marvelous, and the chemistry between Banku and Bhoothnath is clearly evident in every frame. Speaking of chemistry, although Shah Rukh Khan is only in the film accumulatively for about 30 minutes or so, the pairing of him and Chawla is something that I frankly miss. Even though he might have been pulled into the role just to boost the star power of the flick, I couldn’t have seen anyone else playing the endearing sarcastic husband, always making fun of his wife’s home making skills, other than King Khan himself.
Supporting characters include a drunken loiterer named “Anthony” played by Rajpal Yadav, a tiffin-hijacking principal “J.J. Irani” played by Satish Shah, and a son that could have come right off the sets of Bhagban, “Vijay,” played by Priyanshu Chatterjee.
The second half of the film is more melodramatic, and is definitely a 180 from the film’s fun and energetic beginning. I did question the writers’ decision to change the theme of the film from kids’ film (which was the first half) to family film (after intermission) that was filled with adult emotion and spirituality.
The music provided by Vishal-Shekar catches the concept of the film well, but I would have liked to have had at least one recognizable chart topper.
Highlights of the film were the adorable first song in which we see Banku and his fellow class mates all dressed up as future teens dancing and singing in true Bollywood fashion in an array of different costumes (hip-hoppers, bikers, football players, cheerleaders etc); Bhootnath’s nack for being the loveable, friendly and misunderstood ghost; and the song “Chaalo Jaane Do” which took me back to when I was a child reminding me of the “Mere Paas Aao” days of Mr. Natwarlal. And to answer a question from one of the lyrics to a song in the film “who da man?” . . . Mr. Bachchan, after watching your great performance you for sure are the man!
Overall I would say Bhoothnath is a good family entertainer, director Vivek Sharma as a director and storyteller is very promising, and this movie is definitely worth the trip to the theater.
To see or not to see folks . . . I’ll let you know at the next premiere.
Final Rating: * * * ½
