Despite the uneven writing, the film works because it has heart. I will also say that depicting violence against children to appeal to one’s emotions is wrong on so many levels. Still, “Bhoothnath Returns” is anchored by terrific performances from its central players: Boman Irani, Amitabh Bachchan, and the surprise packet that is Parth Bhalerao.

I laughed out loud in a few bits, didn’t mind some of it, and blanked out in the rest. Finally it was neither funny nor serious enough: neither fully ghostly nor ghastly, but somewhere in between.

Bhoothnath Returns has a few laughs but it ignores the basics. Despite the hiccups, the film is relatively strong up until midway, when suddenly, without warning, it turns into a poor-people montage, a bewildering collection of moments showing poverty and riots — set to song, no less — and ending in a bunch of stills of people pushing carts and pulling rickshaws and looking perfectly happy with their lives, if a trifle puzzled by the photographers.

Bhootnath Returns is unnecessarily bloated. It has far too much sermonising. The narrative is simplistic and naïve. And yet I recommend that you see the film — because it is also heartfelt, genuinely moving and, for the first half at least, slyly funny.

Targetted primarily at children, the film serves the purpose — it is entertaining and sends across a simple message in a hard-hitting manner. It also gets its viewership right – if we want to bring about change, children need to be its harbingers.

Bhoothnath Returns tries to strike a high moral tone in its social messaging, but creatively it doesn’t flinch from being crassly exploitative. It made me cringe so often that I wished this clever concept had been handed over to a director with a light touch.

Bhoothnath Returns starts off with a fascinating premise but drags towards the end. Whatever connect the towering Bachchan makes with his viewer is rudely disrupted to accommodate mediocre songs or misplaced sentimentalism in a prolonged slide show of poignant portraits making Bhoothnath’s return quite a drag in the end.

Boman Irani’s mean politician caricature isn’t menacing enough to give anybody sleepless nights, leave alone a ghost who rocks.

Will Bhoothnath Returns be able to bhooth-capture the box office? It might not lose its deposit, but it does not look like it is in with a chance to romp home with a big margin.

Tiwari’s sequel sets off with a lot of promise, entertainment, laughs and endearing camaraderie between a bhooth and a boy. The first-half has wittily written scenes – strung with satire and emotion, but the story slowly turns into a tedious vocational course on voting. The preaching distracts from some superb performances and inadvertently loses humour, but the story does have its heart in the right place. ‘BN’ makes a comeback at a perfect time – bang on with our Indian elections, and packs a powerful message, albeit with potholes in the plot.

Like India’s democratic system, “Bhoothnath Returns” has some noticeable flaws, but it does inject enough faith for viewers to cheer it on.

Enjoyable in parts, Bhootnath Returns has the right sentiment, but an over the top climax and cliched writing holds it back from being a charmer.

There is no doubt that Bhoothnath will entertain cine-goers.. It’s entertainment .. Bachchan style!

Bhoothnath Returns is lightyears ahead of its first part. Told like a socio-political satire in the first half, it suffers when the humor runs out leaving behind an overdramatic climax. For the intelligent story and the umpteenth laughs of the first hour and mostly Parth & Big B’s impervious chemistry, the film deserves a watch. Could have been octaves ahead but doesn’t soar adequately.

…is made with noble intentions and the message it conveys resonates in the second hour, although those looking for entertainment may find it lacking in the second half. Watch it for some wonderful moments and superior performances by Bachchan Sr., Boman Irani and the child artist Parth Bhalerao.

‘Bhootnath Returns’ is watchable because of the timeliness with which it brings you the message, “cast your vote” and “vote for change”.

Watch Bhoothnath Returns for the masterful performances by Parth, Boman Irani and Amitabh Bachchan. Mr Bachchan particularly shows you why he is still leagues ahead of any contemporary star, actor or performer. And then there are sprightly cameos by Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor to further add to experience. Despite all its imperfections Bhoothnath Returns is a film worth cheering for. It definitely deserves your vote.

…a film that cannot be missed; especially keeping the elections in mind.
Watch BHOOTHNATH RETURNS, then go and cast your vote.

For a cynic, this might be too idealist a movie and it probably is. An honest man — or a ghost for that matter — winning elections in one constituency by solving simple issues like water and electricity is definitely not going to make a dent in the burgeoning corruption situation in the country. But then, as the boss at the ghost house says, even ghosts need entertainment, entertainment and entertainment. So if we get a bit of that along with a social message, why not? Watch this film.

It’s another classic case of how a promising first-half isn’t backed by a convincing second-part. What could have been a good movie, turned into something hugely disappointing.

In this sequel, which has the unmistakeable soul of a Munnabhai film, Tiwari borrows Hirani’s tried-and-tested approach to storytelling that mixes calculated irreverence with overly optimistic world-views. At the same time, his vision is a lot more authentic and unflinching than the 3 Idiots director’s rose-tinted, escapist vision.

Bhoothnath Returns is an entertaining film although it is slow and boring in parts. It has the potential to score on the strength of positive word of mouth. Its collections deserve to pick up but it is a fact that it has taken a very dull start because of absence of the youth factor in it and that is a major minus point as the first weekend is of paramount importance.

…is not as witty or humorous as it appears from its trailers. A film that could be entertaining all the way had it not lost its plot.

Don’t expect return of the old Bhoothnath in Bhoothnath Returns. It’s a different film with a different theme. Watch it for performance of Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani and child artist Parth Bhalerao.

Parth as Akhrot makes the movie worthwhile, even with a sluggish second half. It would not be too wrong to say that the young lad acts with the prowess that overshadows Sr Bachchan`s performance at times. He has some of the best moments of the movie and the director has really picked a gem who we hope to see more often on the silver screen.

A stellar star cast, a noble intention packed with a few quick laughs.

…the real star of the show is somebody else-someone who is at least six decades younger to the big daddy of Bollywood and less than half the size of Mr Bachchan’s larger than life tall frame.

The overly busy screenplay, which clocks at 155 minutes, is packed with so many ideas that it unfolds at the pace of a multi-phase election. A documentary montage of poor Indians is one of many heavy-handed gestures in a movie that could have benefitted without them.

A tedious second half apart, the well-timed political satire has its moments.

In the end the film leaves you with a preachy, but timely message. But again, it’s likely to be lost on children. If you don’t mind the supernatural comedy taking a somber turn towards the finale, the film is worth a watch!

It is disconcerting to suddenly be told that ghosts don’t always result in horror films. In India, they almost never do, because we end up laughing at the screen anyway. Perhaps the term ‘horror comedy’ generates from here. This is also the self-referential humour Bhoothnath Returns, the sequel to Bhoothnath, excels at.

A feel good family entertainer that deserves a chance.

While the first half is refreshingly devoid of needless drama, director Tiwari makes up for all that lost time. The climax is loaded with melodrama and tears. But the credit has to go to Akhrot and Bhoothnath for making the twists palatable. Watch this for Bhalerao and Bachchan (in that order).