Frankly speaking after some big recent flops, I decided to leave all my expectations at home before watching “Bhoothnath”. And what a pleasant and quality surprise it was. Director Vivek Sharma’s debut movie is purely as per the tradition of BR films, who believe in simple family dramas told in a sober way. It is not a scary movie at all, but on the contrary it is a loving, emotional family movie, mainly for the kids.

As a cool breeze in the summer, here comes a novel script with a new outlook towards the “Atma” phenomenon. Don’t expect a tried and tested formula, as the movie does have some fresh content with an emotional touch. The usual family drama is also there which can be termed as the trademark of BR films. But putting all together you will enjoy watching it with your family, especially with the kids.

The main character of the movie is a 8 year old “Aman Siddiqui” playing “Bonku” who becomes friend with the spirit in his house. Amitabh Bachhan plays the old man (the spirit) living in the house and is visible only to Bonku. The child Aman has given a splendid performance high on confidence. He has delivered an act at par with the veterans. Amitabh Bachhan has again proved that he is the “one & only” in the industry capable of giving such performances at this age. The people who gave comments about his retirement should start searching places to hide after seeing Bhootnath.

Though the movie starts a little slow but then picks up fast as the spirit is introduced. The first scene of Bonku’s interaction with Amitabh is well executed and has excellent special effects. The best scene comes before the interval when Bonku gets injured in an accident. This well written and brilliantly executed scene at once connects you with the key characters and you start enjoying the movie more.

The second half is heavy on emotions, but all the emotions are on the happy side. You enjoy the tears along with the happenings on the screen. The last 20 minutes of the movie are very well written and directed. The director is right on his tracks all the way and does a brilliant job in his first venture. He shows his hold over the medium as he talks to the point and has very less unwanted scenes in the script. It is clear that he doesn’t believe in too much style but believes in content told in a simple but impressive way, without any gloss.

Performance wise, no doubt both Aman & Amitabh are at the top of the list. Juhi Chawla is fresh and bubbly as ever. Surprisingly Shahrukh Khan (in special appearance) gives a very soft and underplayed performance and manages to impress in the few scenes he had. There is one under-rated actor in the movie who shines bright in the climax and he is Priyanshu Chatterjee. He is a bundle of talent still waiting for the right opportunity to come his way and he proves this in his small role in the movie. Satish Shah is enjoyable as the School Principal but Rajpal Yadav is completely wasted as a mad man. 

The weakest point of the movie is its music by Vishal & Shekhar. This is their second let down in a row after “Tashan”. If only they had given some better songs, the movie would have been more enjoyable. Still it was nice to hear Amitabh & Juhi Chawla singing a song. Sukhwinder’s voice was perfect in the climax song. And the act by Aman & Amitabh was of first rate in the song “Mere Buddy”. They both look very cute together in the Hip –Hop avtar.

In nutshell, “Bhootnath” is an entertaining family movie, with two Amitabh’s in it, one 8+ and one 60+.

Rating : 3.5 / 5 (lost points mainly due to music)