Bhoothnath

Bhoothnath
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vivek Sharma
Written by	Vivek Sharma Sudhanshu Dube
Story by	Vivek Sharma
Based on	The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
Produced by	Ravi Chopra
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Juhi Chawla Aman Siddiqui 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	9 May 2008 (2008-05-09)
Running time	136 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹6.8 million (equivalent to ₹15 million or US$210,000 in 2019)
Box office	₹200 million (equivalent to ₹450 million or US$6.3 million in 2019)

Bhoothnath (transl. Lord of ghosts)^[1] is a 2008 Indian Hindi comedy horror film written and 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]

"Bhoothnath" 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. A sequel titled Bhoothnath Returns, co-written by Sharma and written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari was released on 11 April 2014.

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.

Although 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. One day Bhoothnath unintentionally causes Banku to sustain a head injury after startling him and causing him to fall down the stairs; the two reconcile in the hospital and 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 and son Vijay. After growing up, Vijay moved to the U.S for higher studies. He then got married and permanently settled in the United States despite Kailash requesting him to return home for Nirmala's sake. Days later, Nirmala died, and Vijay returned with his wife and son. Unknown to Kailash, Vijay tried to sell the bungalow. This angered Kailash, resulting in an argument. Vijay and his wife, against his own son's and Kailash's protests, got ready to return to the US . Kailash ran after him to stop him from leaving and fell down the stairs. Unaware that he has just died, Kailash's ghost rose and ran after Vijay but Vijay couldn't see him and left. As Kailash walked back inside the house, he saw his own dead body lying on the floor and realized he is now a ghost.

Aditya and Anjali decide to perform Bhoothnath's final rites to give him salvation. Aditya meets Vijay and confronts him. Guilt ridden, Vijay arrives during the ceremony and apologizes for his mistakes and tells the Sharma family that they can live permanently in the house. Bhoothnath forgives his son and is freed. Banku realises this and gives Bhoothnath a tearful goodbye. A distraught Banku leaves for school, missing Bhoothnath, who has disappeared. However, the two are happily reunited when Bhoothnath comes back outside the house, though he requests Banku and the viewers to hide it.

Cast[]

• Amitabh Bachchan as Kailash Nath a.k.a. Bhoothnath
• Aman Siddiqui as Aman “Banku” Sharma
• Juhi Chawla as Anjali Sharma
• Shah Rukh Khan in an extended cameo appearance as Aditya “Adi” Sharma
• Satish Shah as Principal J.J. Irani
• Rajpal Yadav as Anthony
• Priyanshu Chatterjee as Vijay Nath, Kailash’s son
• Shaana Diya as Shaana Nath, Vijay's wife
• Shrey Bawa as Vibhu Nath, Vijay’s son
• Neena Kulkarni as Nirmala Nath, Kailash’s wife
• Delnaaz Paul as Jojo's mother
• Ashish Chaudhary in a special appearance as Rohan Khurana
• Nauheed Cyrusi in a special appearance as Tina
• Amit Behl as Dr. Behl
• Anup Upadhyay as Teacher
• Achyut Potdar as Temple Priest
• Atul Srivastava as Jagan
• Devendra as Aman "Banku"sharma Friend
• Abhishek Bachchan as Kailash Nath's son

Music[]

All songs are composed by Vishal-Shekhar with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.

Reception[]

The film received generally positive response from critics. As of June 2020, 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$950,000) 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[]

• List of ghost films
• The Canterville Ghost

References[]

External links[]

• Bhoothnath at IMDb