Bhoothnath Returns

Bhoothnath Returns in my view is much better than its first part. The variety of the first part was in its humorous treatment that showed the relationship between a naughty boy Banku and the ghost. When it comes to Bhoothnath Returns, they have utilized the fun factor throughout the film and interestingly the space for melodrama got reduced and they have used the majority of the elaborate run time to give the movie a satire feel.

The second part has Bhoothnath leaving to Bhooth world after his adventures with Banku and family. Bhoothnath who failed to scare a small boy had to face much embarrassment in front of the fellow ghosts and he asks the authority for a second chance to prove his credibility. In this second innings his encounter was with Akhrot, a boy who belonged to Mumbai’s Dharavi slum who could see him. Bhoothnath’s journey with Akhrot takes him to a situation where he had to compete in the parliament elections for the sake of people. The journey up to that and the events that happens during this election campaigning is what Bhoothnath returns discussing.

The film starts off in a way that suits the kids. In those earlier portions the treatment of the content is much similar to the earlier film. I was curious to know how they would take the movie in to that election scenario and how they will incorporate the fantasy factor in to the real elections. To my surprise, the entry was real smooth and interesting. They have reduced the excessive usage of magical powers; some interesting loop holes were introduced in the plot making the entry of Bhoothath into elections a sensible one. One more interesting thing I found in the movie was the way they wrote the villain played by Boman Irani. The cunningness our undeserving politicians show to grab a seat in the parliament was clearly visible in that particular character. There is a slight confusion in treatment where they are kind of liberal towards the abilities and inabilities of the ghost. And the repetitive use of real estate ghost buster job of Akhrot was a bit boring.

On screen the little Parth Bhalerao was good as Akhrot. The boy was really comfortable in front of the great Amitabh Bachchan and the tapori replies created laughter among the audience. Amitabh Bachcahn once again was quite cool and comfortable as Bhoothnath. Antagonist played by Boman Irani was really an interestingly crooked character. Sanjai Mishra was funny in his lawyer getup. I really liked the way introduced Anurag Kashyap into the plot. Nice cameos by Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.

Direction style of Nitesh Tiwari is good and I liked the way he kept the melodramatic angle away from the sarcastic theme. The script succeeds in placing the ghost in the elections and throws light on some issues effectively. But it couldn’t build the pictures before and after this impressively. I liked the dialogues. Cinematography is fine and the usage of visual effects is quite less. Music was nice.

Overall Bhoothnath Returns is a feel good satire. With a mature content that has relevance in the current scenario, I believe it will entertain you. My rating is 3/5 for Nitesh Tiwari’s Bhoothnath Returns. It’s not just for kids.