Bhoothnath

Bhoothnath (Devanagari: भूतनाथ translation: "Lord of Ghosts") is a 2008 Bollywood supernatural comedy 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 supporting role. The film is based on a true story of a boy in Goa and an angel. The film is an adaptation of the Oscar Wilde short story "The Canterville Ghost". A sequel titled Bhoothnath Returns was released on 11 April 2014.

It was released on 9 May 2008, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and was well received by audiences, thus becoming a moderate success at the box office. Moreover, it was a very popular movie among children and the performances of the main trio (Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, and Aman Siddiqui) were praised by critics and audiences alike.

Plot

The story focuses on Aman Sharma a.k.a. Banku (Aman Siddiqui), who has recently shifted into an old bungalow in Goa, with his parents, Aditya (Shah Rukh Khan) and Anjali (Juhi Chawla). His father Aditya is an engineer on a cruise line, and therefore moves with his cruise. They are made aware that the bungalow is haunted, but they disregard this. Banku is enrolled in St. Francis High School, and Anjali hires a kindhearted and comedic drunken thief, Anthony (Rajpal Yadav), as a servant to clean the house. One night, Banku goes down to the living room to have some ice-cream when he sees a shadow on the wall. Frightened, he calls out to his mother, before seeing that the bowl in which he was having ice-cream has vanished. Later, Banku returns and passes a sleeping Anjali to investigate. He then sees the ghost of Kailash Nath (Amitabh Bachchan) and then they start arguing on whether Kailash is a ghost or an angel (according to Banku, who constantly persists that Nath is an angel rather than a ghost). Banku nicknames him Bhootnath as Kailash says that he is a bhooth (ghost) and also says that "Nath" is his last name.

Bhoothnath Returns

Bhoothnath Returns (The Lord of Ghosts Returns) is a 2014 Indian supernatural comedy film directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Bhushan Kumar. A sequel to 2008 film Bhoothnath, the film revolves around Bhoothnath (Amitabh Bachchan) who is mocked in a Bhoothworld for his inability to scare children before being sent back to Earth to redeem himself. The film was released on 11 April 2014, and declared as one of the highest grossers according to Box Office India.

Election Commission of India demanded tax-free status for Bhoothnath Returns, stating, "The state governments should support the strong social message that emanates from the film. Granting tax-free status to this film would make people aware about their rights as voters like making voter ID cards or not treating polling day as holiday". The Uttar Pradesh Government has declared tax-free status to film on 30 April 2014.

Plot