Bhoothnath
Bhoothnath | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vivek Sharma |
Screenplay by | Vivek Sharma Sudhanshu Dube |
Produced by | Ravi Chopra |
Starring | Amitabh Bachchan Juhi Chawla Aman Siddiqui Shah Rukh Khan Rajpal Yadav Priyanshu Chatterjee |
Cinematography | Vishnu Rao |
Edited by | K. Vikas |
Music by | Songs: Vishal-Shekhar Background Score: Salim-Sulaiman |
Distributed by | B R Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 136 mins |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹6.8 million (equivalent to ₹19 million or US$230,000 in 2023) |
Box office | ₹200 million (equivalent to ₹560 million or US$6.7 million in 2023) |
Bhoothnath (transl. Lord of Ghosts) [1] is a 2008 Indian Hindi comedy horror film directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav in lead roles and features Shah Rukh Khan in a special cameo. The film is an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1887 short story "The Canterville Ghost".[1] A sequel titled Bhoothnath Returns was released on 11 April 2014. It was released on 9 May 2008, receiving positive reviews from critics. It was well-received by audiences and popular among children, becoming a success at the box office. The performances of the main cast were praised by critics and audiences alike.
Plot
A young couple sneaks into the Nath Villa, a huge bungalow in Goa, only to discover that a ghost haunts the house, causing them to flee. Days later, Aditya Sharma and his wife Anjali Sharma move into the house with their young son, Aman "Banku" Sharma. Aditya is an engineer working on a cruise line who soon bids Anjali and Banku a brief farewell. Days after Aditya's departure, Anjali hires Anthony, a drunk thief, as a housekeeper. One night, Banku encounters the ghost, whose name is Kailash Nath. Banku nicknames him Bhoothnath, a portmanteau of bhoot (ghost in Hindi) and Nath, his surname.
Though Bhoothnath tries to scare him off, Banku considers him an angel and treats him like a friend. Banku's innocent love melts Bhoothnath's anger and the two soon become best friends. Bhoothnath's son, Vijay Nath, returns from the United States to sell off the bungalow. Bhoothnath is angry, as he does not want his home demolished, and scares the buyers. Anjali comes to know about Bhootnath's existence and he finally reveals his story to Banku and Anjali.
Many years ago, Kailash Nath had a happy family with his wife Nirmala, son Vijay and Vijay's wife. However, after Nirmala died and Vijay tried to sell the house, Kailash refused to allow it, resulting in an argument. Vijay stormed out angrily for his flight to the US; as Kailash ran after him to stop him from leaving, he fell from the top of the stairs. Unaware that he has just died, Kailash rose and ran after Vijay but it was too late: Vijay had already left. As Kailash walks back inside the house, he sees his own dead body lying on the floor and realizes he is now a ghost.
Aditya and Anjali decide to perform Bhoothnath's final rites to give him salvation. During the ceremony, Vijay arrives and apologizes for his mistakes and tell the Sharma family that they can live permanently in the house. A distraught Banku arrives at school, missing Bhoothnath, who has disappeared. However, the two are happily reunited when Bhoothnath returns, though he requests Banku and the viewers to hide it.
Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan as Kailash Nath a.k.a. Bhoothnath
- Juhi Chawla as Anjali Sharma
- Shah Rukh Khan as Aditya Sharma
- Aman Siddiqui as Banku Sharma
- Satish Shah as Principal J.J. Irani
- Rajpal Yadav as Anthony
- Priyanshu Chatterjee as Vijay Nath
- Shaana Diya as Shaana Nath, Vijay's wife
- Neena Kulkarni as Nirmala Nath
- Delnaaz Paul as Jojo's mother
- Aashish Chaudhary as Rohan Khurana (Special Appearance)
- Nauheed Cyrusi as Tina (Special Appearance)
- Amit Behl as Doctor
- Anup Upadhyay as Teacher
- Achyut Potdar as Temple Priest
- Atul Srivastava
Music
All songs are composed by Vishal-Shekhar with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
Song Title | Singer(s) |
---|---|
Mere Buddy | Amitabh Bachchan, Armaan Malik |
Hum Toh Hain Aandhi | Koushtuv Ghosh, Aparna Bhagwat, Sharavan Suresh & Sneha Suresh |
Banku Bhaiya | Sukhwinder Singh |
Samay Ka Pahiya | Hariharan, Sukhwinder Singh |
Chalo Jaane Do | Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla |
Mere Buddy (Repeat) | Amitabh Bachchan, Armaan Malik |
Bhoothnath Theme | Instrumental |
Reception
The film received generally positive response from critics. As of June 2020[update], the film holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews with an average rating of 6.25/10.[2] At the box office, the film had a slow opening, though it managed to gross ₹68 million (US$810,000) among its theatrical run and was declared semi-hit by Box Office India.[3]
Sequel
As the film finished with a "to be continued" ending, a sequel to Bhoothnath was expected but there was no clear intention. Bachchan and the original production team announced a sequel, titled Bhoothnath Returns, which was co-written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and released on 11 April 2014. Bachchan and Khan reprised their roles, though the latter only had a cameo appearance as himself.
See also
References
- ^ a b Sonia Chopra. "Bhoothnath". Sify.
- ^ "Bhoothnath (2008)". Retrieved 4 June 2020 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=218&catName=MjAwOA== Archived 26 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Bhoothnath at IMDb
- 2008 films
- 2000s Hindi-language films
- Indian films
- Indian comedy horror films
- Indian ghost films
- Indian haunted house films
- 2000s comedy horror films
- Films set in Goa
- 2000s fantasy films
- Films based on The Canterville Ghost
- Films scored by Vishal–Shekhar
- Films directed by Vivek Sharma
- Indian films with live action and animation
- 2008 directorial debut films
- 2008 comedy films