BABULNATH aka BHOOTNATH

WHERE DOES IT HEAD: - There’s nothing wrong in making a film targeted for kids as long as you can entertain the kids. Director Vivek Sharma’s Bhootnath merely comes across like a mystified effort - at the end of it, we don’t know who he’s intended the film at. Shahrukh khan, who works on a cruise liner, comes to Goa with his wife Anjali (Juhi Chawla) and son Banku (Aman Siddiqui). They hear stories about the bungalow they have leased for a year, being ghostly, but move in anyway. The father settles his family in and leaves for his job. But the in house spirit Kailash Nath aka Bhootnath (Amitabh Bachchan) doesn’t like anyone living in his bungalow and generally has a affinity to scare people away. Initially, he tries to scare Banku too but after a few failed attempts, they become friends. Trouble starts when his mother finds out that her sons been hanging around with a ghost. Father is summoned back from the cruise and Bhootnath’s son returns too, with his own program. Together, they take care of the spooky problem.
THE RIGHT: - The first half is cute and engaging; it moves at the right direction and in the initial reels, director seems to get it precise. The director captures the companionship between Bhoothnath and the Banku rather well, without which the film would have fallen plane. Exceptional points for making the children act their age. The special effects are first rate. Amitabh bachchan, as usual, is an apex and has carried the motion picture on his shoulders. Juhi Chawla is in the top form. The little boy Aman is natural and the King Khan stands out in his tinnie minnie role.
THE WRONG: - The problem with Bhoothnath is that it’s puzzled about his character. It starts out being a children’s film and at some point, it turns into a sad saga of dukhi father and his nikkema beta just like B.R.Chopra’s Baghban. The other dreary parts are the songs that have been packed in. But what I fail to understand is that if Bhootnath scares people away from the bungalow, where was he lost for two days when Srk was present in the bungalow with his wife Anjali and son Banku helping them to settle the house? Do you think Bhoothnath got scared of Srk and thus came to scare Banku only after his father left for his job : - )
WHERE SHOULD YOU HEAD: - watch it but there is no urgency to rush to the cinema. Wait and rent a DVD and watched the ghost kiddy or daddy flick at home.