Bhoothnath Movie Review By Taran Adarsh
Though I cannot put much credence into Taran’s reviews, he does have a sense of the way a movie can run,so hopefully this turns out to be true.
http://indiafm.com/movies/review/12992/index.html
By Taran Adarsh, May 8, 2008 - 17:19 IST
Teaming two superstars [Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan] in your directorial debut is as good as impossible. Opting for a novel story — the relationship between a spirit and a mortal — is an equally big challenge. Really, it requires courage to make a film that defies the stereotype, yet is seeped in emotions that work with the Indian junta. Vivek Sharma’s first outing BHOOTHNATH is a simple story, well told and that’s why it works!
Aimed at kids between 6 and 60, BHOOTHNATH relies on the belief that has been passed on to us through generations: Aatma amar hain.
Write your own movie review of Bhoothnath
Let’s get a few things straight at the very outset. BHOOTHNATH is not an eerie experience [it does have a few moments though]. It’s more of a kiddie film with a strong undercurrent of emotions. In fact, the bonding between the spirit and the kid makes you smile, even laugh at times and most importantly, makes you moist-eyed at two vital points of this 2.08 hour film.
One of the prime reasons why BHOOTHNATH works, besides the above-mentioned reasons, is due to the right casting. The story rests on two shoulders — the experienced [Bachchan] and the raw talent [Aman Siddiqui] — and both shoulder the responsibility beautifully, both compliment each other wonderfully well and make it a must-see experience.
You forget most films the moment you step out of the cineplex. But there’re films that remain etched in your memory for their simplicity. BHOOTHNATH is one of those films. Go for it!
This is a story of a seven-year-old naughty yet innocent boy, who unknowingly turns a foe into a friend. This is a story of Banku [Aman Siddiqui] and his friend, Kailash Nath aka Bhoothnath [Amitabh Bachchan].
Banku’s family [SRK, Juhi Chawla] comes to live in a mansion in Goa, considered haunted after the demise of the patriarch of the family. The spirit uses every rule in the book to scare the kid, but the kid is unaffected by it all. Slowly, a bond develops between the two. The story takes a turn when Kailash Nath’s son [Priyanshu] decides to sell off the mansion.
Debutante director Vivek Sharma’s fundas are clear. Emphasize on substance, not as much on style. 15 minutes into the film and you know that the director doesn’t believe in Russian angles or fancy camera wizardry to create the spooky effect. Sure, BHOOTHNATH begins as a spooky fare, but changes lanes the moment the spirit and the kid become buddies.
For most parts, BHOOTHNATH is aimed at the kids. The portions in the classroom/school, the interaction with the school principal [Satish Shah], the game of one-upmanship between the kids brings the kid out of you.
Vivek Sharma reserves the best during the intermission point as also the climax. The unanticipated accident minutes before the intermission and the emotional moments that follow are brilliantly executed. Ditto for the penultimate 20 minutes, right up to a pooja being organized to ‘free’ the spirit. Simply outstanding! In fact, the emotional quotient takes the graph of the film to an altogether different level.
Any shortcoming? Oh yes! Vishal-Shekhar’s music is outright tacky. Either the duo is disinterested or they’ve run out of stock already. This is the second film in a row [after TASHAN] where the music composers fail in their jobs. The film deserved a better musical score and also composers who have the range to exhibit their talent.
Director Vivek Sharma’s choice of the subject as also his handling of a number of scenes deserves brownie points. Besides being a good storyteller, Vivek has also extracted a striking performance from the child artiste. The film would’ve fallen like a pack of cards if Bachchan would’ve performed and the kid wouldn’t. Another aspect that deserves mention is visual effects. The effects gel beautifully with the goings-on. Cinematography is consistent.
BHOOTHNATH belongs to Amitabh Bachchan and Aman Siddiqui, both. Bachchan continues to surprise you in every film. Any other actor would’ve been exhausted by now. Not Bachchan. Here’s another noteworthy performance by the master actor! The child artiste, Aman, is adorable and a complete natural as far as acting goes. He stands up to Bachchan at every step and that itself is worthy of the highest award.
SRK’s there for a good 20/25 minutes. He’s excellent. Juhi is first-rate. Satish Shah will be loved by the kids. Rajpal Yadav is wasted. Priyanshu leaves a strong impression in the latter reels. Aashish Chowdhary and Nauheed Cyrusi are okay.
On the whole, BHOOTHNATH is a well-told story that has all it takes to appeal to kids and kids at heart, besides striking a chord with the families. Has the merits and potential to end the dry spell at the box-office.
good one here.. 
Re:SRK fans would like to go ahead and read that.
Hmmm.Some body has to read it to them and may be ...
Nice piece that Bachchan has written in his Day 28(i) blog on his relationship with SRK.
Maybe some of the SRK ...
In my opinion Naam was Sanjay's finest hour. He was never able to recapture the portrayal of a rebel at ...
Even the readers/viewers grunt in boredom. Big B's blog is some entertainment though. 
NAAM is he serious , the vulnerability and fragileness which baba displayed in naam was awesome(may be some incidents ...
rhapsody - that is some irony! 
This is a fascinating read Qalandar..
To add to Jay's comment such signs become alll the more worrying when a female ...
rks - you and me will never agree on this. or to quote kipling - O East is East and ...
Sadak was trash comparing to Naam. Music and Sadashiv Amrapurkar's Maharani played a huge part in its success. 
now this is a huge statement to make! Emran was good in Awarapaan which aslo kinda similar to Bhatt's own ...
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
How I pray that a Bachchan solo becomes a hit.
Actually I would be more happy if this became a hit than Sarkar Raj.
Comment by Tango on 8 May 2008:
Ha Ha Ravi Bhai aap logon ko hi confidence nahi tha movie par. I have been saying for a while ki chalegi picture.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
I know Tamgo bhai, I was more concerned about the lack of buzz than anything else, the promotions started of good and then it slacked bcoz people were concentrating more on SR and this fell on the wayside, and like Jog Bhai and Satyam said yesterday this needs a pretty strong WOM to be able to pull through.
So, let us see how the other reviews come, just FYI this movie is not even releasing in Tampa and that is why I am pissed when things are not taken care of properly.
This is where SRK rules, bcoz he takes care that his films get maximum publicity and has a good release world wide.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
But, any how this is just a good start and there is long ways to go, so atleast the movie is good and hope the families flock to the theaters as I am sure the multiplex going crowd will not patronize the movie.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
Sorry meant “Tango bhai” not Tamgo
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
Ravi: Yes WOM is important here. But also my standards for Bachchan are high. I expect a minimal gross, not just mere profitability. In terms of advertising I don’t think they underplayed this one. I’ve seen enough online and on TV at my end. But yes it didn’t have the intensity of some other campaigns. Still these days with all the multiplexes all you need is a decent start and WOM could do the rest. Remember even a film like CDI hardly had a flying start on day one! With some subjects you just can’t get those huge starts.
With cheeni Kum (which was a success and enjoyed very good trending) they messed up things at the beginning by sticking to a low print count. The distributors because of the Nishabd experience made this choice. However had they stuck to a normal print count I don’t think this film would have made less than 40 crores. I haven’t met anyone who didn’t like this.
In that sense Bhootnath has the advantage of a normal count. But I find it an irritating game that some play here when they celebrate certain films that actually do not make a lot of money in absolute terms and underplay the ones that really do! So in other words go ga-ga when a Bachchan film makes 20 crores but not when it does 40 crores! Why? Because in the first instance you can pretend to be sincere by celebrating what ultimately satisfies you by not reaching the kind of stratospheric level that you reserve for your own favorite stars! In the second instance when that level is actually reached you have a problem because of course your support was never ’sincere’! This game is played not just with Bachchan but with some others as well.
Scenario 1:
“Oh wow the film’s a superhit, he’s a huge star, he’s done it!”
the film in question, probably a SRK film makes 50-70 crores.
Scenario 2:
“Oh wow the film’s a superhit, he’s a huge star, he’s done it!”
the film in question, probably a Bachchan film makes 20-30 crores.
Now the pretense is ‘hey we’re celebrating all stars’ but note how in one instance the star is completely undercut!
But as I said it happened with other stars as well. Some here celebrated Akshay more a few years ago than now! The same kind of logic!
Anyway getting back to Bachchan hope Bhootnath does well obviously but my standards will be authentic because Bachchan of all people does not need a lowering of standards. If he’s enjoyed less box office success in some ways it’s also because he’s tried out different things. Sure, he made some very poor decisions at points and diluted his box office impact but that’s a thing of the past. But when you do films like Last lear and Shoebite and so forth you cannot expect a massive hit at the box office, only a relative one. However at his age he’s doing good roles and that’s what matters. Of course with Bhootnath he does have the chance to score a proper one.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
I hope some of the Bachchan fans , come out of the closet and show some excitement for a solo Bachchan starrer which looks like it stands a good chance of being a hit.
Comment by aby2000 on 8 May 2008:
Satyam, when are you watching Bhoothnath?
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
Satyam,Q bhai,Rocky,ILG,rockstar,Abzee and whoever else I missed , please see and let us know your thoughtson Bhoothnath as they are frikkin not shwoing it in Tampa or anywhere in Florida(I will catch it if they are showing it in Orlando or somewhere else).
Tango bhai, let me know when you are watching it and your thoughts on the movie.
Jog bhai, I think you need to watch it now and let us know your thoughts.
Shetty bhai,Arun, Som dear,Jeegs,Nitesh bhai all of you guys watch it for me and let me know your thoughts.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
Of course Akshay need your review bro ASAP.
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
Aby2000: Either Sat or Sun, more likely the latter.
Comment by N I T E S H on 8 May 2008:
Excellent.
This looks like another Ravi Chpra Dhamaka with the Shahenshah after Baaghbaan.
The original king is back! (for handful of buggers who ever thought that BigB was not there)
Ravi….This will be the first film that I will watch in theatre this year.
Comment by N I T E S H on 8 May 2008:
WTF….only 3 lines on Amitabh’s excellence.
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
Certainly Ravi…
Comment by Simply Som on 8 May 2008:
Ravi bhai: will be watching it tomorrow expecially for you and be airing my views ASAP.Bachchan and 20-25 minutes of SRK are enough reasons for me to catch this one FDFS in the theater.
Comment by Charles on 8 May 2008:
So, reportedly, everything’s come together, if it’s a hit, as all boxes had to be ticked right on this one. It’s times like these that I’m reminded of Basu’s statement. Do we want AB to retire?!
I think it’s gonna be AB’s year. Can feel it. Winning the war with media. A hit with the blog. Bhootnath. Let’s see.
Cheers AB fans!
Comment by Qalandar on 8 May 2008:
Ravi: this isn’t my kinda movie…magar kya karen, Sarkaar ka bulaava hai, is liye cinema mein dekhni to padegi hi…this weekend.
Comment by Tango on 8 May 2008:
Ravi bhai “But, any how this is just a good start and there is long ways to go, so atleast the movie is good and hope the families flock to the theaters as I am sure the multiplex going crowd will not patronize the movie.”
Ravi bhai, you are right with the sentiments. Anything for another Big B solo hit at his age. As ppl on Indolink will remember, I had huge fights for both Baghbaan and Black.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
Thanks Som dear.
Comment by SHETTY on 8 May 2008:
Jo Hukum Ravi Anna.
Will watch it on Saturday.
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
Namaskaram Shettygaaru, how are u? Long time bro?
How is life treating u?
Still working hard?
How’s the family?
Has Ach bhai showed up at Blore, not seeing him much here too.
Comment by SHETTY on 8 May 2008:
Hello Ravibhai.
Work is as usual, life is as usual, goes on pretty much the way everyone lives around in Bangalore
Not heard from Bhaijaan.
Comment by joginder on 8 May 2008:
Hi Ravi, well even Paheli got 4 stars from Taran while it was a 2 star from me
So, I would rather wait. Am still not jumping the gun though things happening in the positive direction sounds good!
Comment by Ravi on 8 May 2008:
You are part of the industry Jog bhai and if something sounds good you need to take a look at it and put the word out, this is a service you would do to people looking for good reviewers like you.
Comment by rockstar on 8 May 2008:
ravi will watch it on saturdaynight or sunday, mini review will be here in ng
Comment by rockstar on 8 May 2008:
ravi bhai will watch it on saturday night or sunday, mini review will be here in ng
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
Ravi: I am told weekend bookings have picked up in Bombay, it;s a bit more mixed elsewhere, some cities better than others. But I think this film should have a solid weekend, and hopefully the WOM carries it through from thereon.
Like Qalandar this also isn’t a subject that particularly attracts me but after watching even Hum Kaun Hain (!) in the theater I could hardly justify missing this one!
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
“As ppl on Indolink will remember, I had huge fights for both Baghbaan and Black.”
Yes of course! Those on the other side had totals on both films significantly greater than yours! It’s the old move. let’s all call Bachchan’s movie a hit but let’s keep the totals ‘manageable’!
Comment by rockstar on 8 May 2008:
http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20080508/116745.htm( releasing in 900 print(i guess worldwide) according to ravi chopra)
Comment by satyam on 8 May 2008:
Black made 30 crores in my view, you had it at much less than this! Those who deflate Abhishek’s totals were also doing this with Bachchan. Of course later an ET piece confirmed this figure. It was that old spiel ‘hey the film’s a hit anyway, why exaggerate the numbers?!”. Translation ‘when it’s a Bachchan hit and you have to accept things, at least keep the numbers low’! LOL!
Anyway I am off for now..
Comment by akshay shah on 8 May 2008:
I even saw BAABUL in cinema for Bachchan…dunno if this is playing in Sydney..if it is..this might end up being my FIRST film in CINEMA this year…otherwise…..all eyes on SARKAR RAJ:)!