It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Bhootnath Returns. The sequel to well received Bhootnath is very different from its original and mostly in good way. Bhootnath played by always amazing Amitabh Bachchan returns to earth, becomes friend with poor kid Akhrot played by superb Parth Bhalerao and fights face to face with corrupt politician played by ever dependable Boman Irani.The good doesn't stop here. Nitesh Tiwari of Chillar Party fame directs the well written story with conviction and emotion so that you can easily relate to the pain and agony of who are at the receiving end of cancer named corruption. The fresh ideas like Bhootnath using his power to get the haunted buildings freed from ghosts and 'you are not required to be alive to contest an election' stand out.However, as movie progresses the solutions become more simplistic and less charismatic. Parth's performance is outstanding specially being in the company of big talents like Big B and Boman. He makes you laugh and cry with equal ease. His cracking chats with Big B and emotional scene with his mother before the climax are just one of the many good evidence of his acting prowess.I am going with strong 7 out of 10 for Bhootnath Returns. It deserves a watch for some witty ideas and towering performances.

If it weren't for the sermonizing, and loss of genre context, I'd have given this movie a 10 for effort. More on that later.Haven't seen the first one, so I do not know firsthand how this one compares. However, everyone I know who's seen the first one too, says this is the better effort. I'll take their word for it, since I have no intention of watching the first one anyway, since word is that its quite sappy. The filmmakers seem to have understood that the novelty of having a ghost in the narrative has worn off for seasoned movie-goers, so they kinda go a different route after a little bit of been there-done that. Satire is woven into the tale, though not as much as the movie needs. It turns preachy and sermonizes much past the hour where the audience starts hemming and hawing, and its holier-than-thou position on electoral responsibilities is where it fatally mis-steps, though, considering the milieu, it does what is expected in that department, where everyone gets the message only of its driven home with a sledge- hammer. The makers know this, and try to temper the message by having a few in- jokes at the expense of the celebrity community, but they are too few, and too far between. The positioning of a couple of cameos is also convenient, but does not detract from the preachy, message-brandishing documentary feel overall.The performances are solid/sincere, though Irani does what he's been doing since the Munnnabhai movies, and esp. 'Khosla ka Ghosla'. And this is perhaps the year of Sanjay Mishra, with this and 'Aankhon Dekhi'. Subtlety is an art, and this guy's the master.The technical values are right up there, esp. with the production design with the use of real locations (not the fantasy ones),and the score is above average. Continuity is maintained well, and that is a feat for something out of Bollywood. Neither completely embracing the mainstream nor the niche market, this one's a pretty decent efforts considering what came before it, and today's landscape of movies that are being released.Verdict: I'm sure the tone won't go down well with the independent- minded, but this one deserves an audience for the effort it makes in trying out something different, though they could've done without said hammer.

"Bhoothnath Returns" Indeed! No one can decree Indian's!!! This movie is a big slap on Democracy, Politics & Election in India. Bhoothnath Returns story, idea & social message are thematically linked with excellent issues, speech, emotions & presentations which took the bar of movie at Pinnacle. All the characters were Jaunty, Pert & Sveltest. Their cadences & intonation performance makes them spiffy & snappy."Bhootnath Returs" deserve extolling applaud & Ensky.Amitabh Bachchan & Parth Bhalerao (Akhrot) stupendous effort made "Bhootnath Returs" humongous & memorable. Amitabh is eternally Enticing, Alluring, impeccable, splendid, fantabulous & out-and-out sterling.

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan (Bhoothnath), Parth Bhalerao (Akhrot), Boman Irani (Politician Bhau), Anurag Kashyap, Usha Jadhav, Sanjay Mishra, Brijendra Kala, Usha Nadkarni, Kurush Deboo (Psychiatrist), Dheerendra Dwivedi (Dheeraj), A. R> Manikandan (Muncipality Officer), Guest Appearance – Shahrukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, Ghosts – Farah Ahmed, Manoj Anand, Raj Awasti, Jas Dhillon, Sandeep Garcha, Taj Gill, Hassen Monisha, Sharif Islam, Amrita Jazzmyn, Preet Kaur, Neena Kumar, Fayaz Nathalia, Kumud Pant, Sanjeev Parma, Jayesh Patel, Rajen Prajapati, Simi Rai, Atul Sharma, Ashwani Chopra Genre: Children, Drama, Fantasy, Social Direction: Nitesh Tiwari Production: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Renu Ravi Chopra Distribution: BR Films Written by: Nitesh Tiwari, Piyush Gupta, Additional Script writers – Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra Cinematographer: Kamaljeet Negi Editor: Chandrashekhar Prajapati Music: Ram Sampth, Palash Mucchal, Meet Bros Anjjan, Yo Yo Honey Singh Release Date: 11th April, 2014 Language: Hindi Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes The Plot: Bhoothnath Returns starts with Bhoothnath aka Kailash Nath (Amitabh Bachchan)'s return to Bhoothworld, where he is laughed at by the other ghosts due to his inability to scare even children. Ahh…Bhoothworld is an afterworld Sarkari Office (Government Office) full of files. Ghosts wait with a token number to be reborn as humans. A mosquito rebirth can happen instantly, but there is lucky draw to be reborn as a film star's pet. Bhoothnath asks for a chance to earn his reputation as a ghost who can scare people and he is sent back to the earth as a ghost itself. Bhoothnath meets street-smart Bhoothnath realizes that kids are not afraid of him. Then, he meets Daharavi boy Akhrot (Parth Bhalerao) who can see him and even he is not scared of him. Rest of the story revolves around a bond developed between Bhoothnath and Akhrot and the social cause for which they join hands together. Bhoothnath becomes a reformer focusing on corruption, solving water shortages, clean streets etc. in Dharavi. A very novel concept of a ghost Bhoothnath standing for election against corrupt Bhau (Boman Irani) is shown. Akhrot's logic behind convincing Bhoothnath to stand for the election is that he is good and since he is dead, no one can kill him. How speech by a politician is manipulated for one's own advantage is also depicted in the movie. Director and Story Writer: It is 2nd movie of the director Nitesh Tiwari (after Chillar Party). Though the concept of the movie is very good, but could have been handled in a much better manner. Although the first half of the movie is good, the second half drags and gets preachy. It loses its feel for a Children's movie. But yes, Nitesh has been successful in conveying a social message that we as citizens have the responsibility to make the country win by choosing the right leaders.Cast and their Performance: Amitabh Bachchan as Bhoothnath is very natural, and spontaneous. He is seen more of himself enjoying with the kids.The highlight of the movie is Parth Bhalerao as Akhrot. He has given an outstanding performance. He shares almost every frame with Amitabh Bachchan.Boman Irani as Bhau is also good.Music: Music by Ram Sampth (Har Har Gange, Sahib, Dharavi Rap) is good. Palash Mucchal & Meet Bros Anjjan's Party to Banti Hai (sung by Mika Singh and Meet Bros Anjjan) is also good. The movie closes with Yo Yo Honey Singh's Party with the Bhoothnath is average.Thumbs up: Parth Bhalerao's performance as Akhrot. The bond between Parth Bhalerao and Amitabh Bachchan.Thumbs down: Children may not enjoy the second half since it gets preachy. The very genre of the movie gets ambiguous.One-Liner: Bhoothnath Returns could have been much more hilarious.Rating: 2.75 / 5 (Average +)