Films for children are a rare happening.     Amir Khan tried it and was very successful but Bobby Deol’s Nanhe outing was not.  Blue

Umbrella got critical acclaim but it again did not well received by the mainstream audience.  In Bhoothnath we have a great casting and an interesting plot to hook children and adults at a time.   However the director is only successful in part.

Banku (Aman Siddiqui) with his parents Aditya & Anjali (Shahrukh – Juhi Chawla) comes to stay in a new mansion (Nath Villa) they rented in Goa.   The mansion is believed to be the house for a Ghost (Kailash Nath – Amitab Bachchan).   The parents who were new to the area ignored the warnings.    The ghost who doesn’t permit anybody to stay in the house was however taken by the child’s innocent approach to him assuming he is an angel.    (Anybody remember the novel Forever X?).    Bhoothnath is the story of the relation between the child Banku and the Ghost Kailash Nath.    Why the Bhooth is still there?  How the relation between the ghost and the child will grow is all to see on screen.

Ghost stories are not new but using it to create comedy maintaining the seriousness is not that common.  In Bhoothnath the director approached the middle way where he presented it as a serious movie in one part while using half of the time to create fun.   Technically the film is quite good and the cast are utilized well.   The story didn’t have anything new to offer where most of the scenes could be predicted in advance.    

Cast performance is the highlight of Bhoothnath.  Take out the cast, especially Amitab & Aman and the film is a big let down.     Amitab did a fantastic job keeping his usual form.   Aman Siddiqui is quite good and for a new comer he has shown great maturity and perfection in acting.  These two carried the film in their shoulders.  Juhi Chawla is excellent in the comic scenes.   Shahrukh Khan handled the small role given to him well.   Rajpal yadav created some fun in the scenes wherever he appeared.     Priyanshu Chatterjee as Kailash Nath’s son is good.  Overall, performance by the cast is excellent.

Music is quite average except the one during the climax.  Choreography was poor.  Even inclusion of 5 songs with poor imagination is quite a waste.     Cinematography is good, most of the part.     Editing could have been better.

When one make a movie there should have an audience in mind, let it be children, adults, woman, families, youth…whatever.   They should stick to the genre.  In Bhoothnath, the film was successful when it was addressed as the one for children.   Unfortunately those scenes were hardly 45 minutes of the film.  I will say they should have used at least 90 minutes for this.   Take out these 45 minutes and the film is a serious movie for adults.    5 songs in the film should have reduced to 1 or 2.   The unwarranted seriousness during the interval didn’t contribute to anything, but to confusion.       

Despite its flaws the effort to make a film for children should be appreciated.   Children enjoy the film well in its middle part.   At end light hearted children get some tears with them for some time, though an easy compromise smile was offered by the generous director.

The interaction between the child and the ghost when they meet first is the highlight and best scene of the film.  Scenes involving Juhi & Rajpal too were hilarious.    Scenes at school were good.

Overall, the movie is an average plus movie worth a watch for the brilliant performance and some light comedy.    However, if you go to it with great expectation you may not enjoy it.   The film released without much publicity and it is taking the toll on the box office.

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Somewhat revealed
Best to watch with:	Family
Movie Genre:	No Comment
Best part in the movie:	Cast