Bhoothnath - A Cranky Ghost

We've all grown up watching the Big B do a lot in his own funny ways yeah - funny faces !! Be it as a drunkard, an English-ignorant annadi, or a paan-chewing inspector. Therefore, while it is more than saddening to see him in roles that really demand nothing more than a casual performance and standard issue face-pulling. The makers of Bhootnath can at least rest, assured that they have the best actor for the part.

The movie starts off 'sweetly' enough, and once you realise that Bhoothnath is a kids' film that isn't even trying to be anything else, the first half pretty much works. All is likeable enough right till the third act, where the movie abruptly turns into the kind of handkerchief-friendly melodrama we have come to associate with BR Films.

The film's lead is a natural enough young fellow called Aman Siddiqui, who plays local mischief maker, Banku. Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla play his parents, who have just rented a Goa bungalow, and while daddy (SRK) works on a cruise liner, Mommy(Juhi Chawla) has her hands full force-feeding Banku breakfast and unpacking the furniture on her own because no maid would venture close to the place. It's haunted !!.

After many rumours of Nath Villa being haunted, Banku confronts his mother with the Ghost Question. There are no ghosts, she says, before filling his head with some sweet stories about angels. Sure enough, Banku comes face to face with a ghost and refuses to accept it.

The rest of the film, predictably is about this kid and the equation he develops with this ghost. And while there is absolutely nothing you haven't seen before in many many films, both the Old Ghost and Easily-Angered Young Man play their parts with warmth and enthu and, in Bachchan's case, even grace.

The problems, arise in the film's third act, where we suddenly confront Bachchan's life, and flashbacks start ruminating on not just his death, but delve into an entirely needless backstory involving his wife, his neglectful son and lots of boring stuff.

In a nutshell, Bhoothnath is more than a bit of a drag, despite the lead players trying hard to make it stick. The rest are just okay. Satish Shah makes white-bread sandwiches look yummy, Rajpal Yadav appears to be playing himself, Shah Rukh Khan looks like he's just bid Knight Riders players Brendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting goodbye, but it is Juhi Chawla, whose performance ends up as the most laboured one and lethally drags Bhoothnath's, spirit, down.

Aman Siddiqui himself is quite good, sparring with the old ghost and doing immensely well in the film's penultimate scene, on a rooftop. As for the ghost himself, here isn't much to say but that director Vivek Sharma is a lucky man, for Amitabh doesn't just pull a face, he often saves it. Or at least he tries.

You can read more on http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/may/09bhoot.htm