Critics Rating: 2 1/2 STARS.

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Parth Bhalerao, Boman Irani, Usha Jadhav, Sanjay Mishra, Brijendra Kala

Genre:Horror Comedy

Direction: Nitesh Tiwari

Duration: 2hrs 35 min

The film uses a minor reference to Bhootnath as a springboard into a different story with a stand-alone plot, which turns out to be innovative and preachy at the same time. Kailash Nath (Amitabh Bachchan) is enjoying the afterlife utopia, a bliss that is short-lived when the ghostly residents laugh openly in his presence.

The reason for their mirth is Bhootnath’s inability to frighten little Banku from the first film. It’s a long wait till the next human birth and the taunts are mounting. Our friendly ghost decides to salvage his reputation by scaring a few children on Earth. There he meets the enterprising Akhrot (essayed brilliantly by Parth Bhalerao), who explains his name – “Hard on the outside, soft on the inside”. As it turns out, the boy is the only one who can see him. They jointly venture into a lucrative business of ghostbusting. All is hunky dory till a few crucial scenes reveal the plight of the needy in Akhrot’s Dharavi slums and ruling candidate Bhau’s (Boman Irani) ruthlessness.

Bhootnath decides to contest the elections against him, with the help of his little friend and the harried residents. But that can lead to an interesting scenario, when the voters have a choice between the living corrupt and the righteous dead.

The film is based on a preposterous premise, but the makers have tried to iron out as many loopholes as they could to the best of their abilities. Even now if you open the Election Commission site, you would find a list of prerequisites which poll candidates need to fulfill. Being alive is not one of them.

There was an unsettling technicality where the candidate has to be a registered voter of a constituency to stand for elections. The writers did touch upon this finer point much later in the film but the reason is not convincing. And the fact that the protagonist stands as candidate under the name Bhootnath and not his official name Kailash Nath would certainly lead to further complications, if one continued with the character’s line of reasoning.

The film’s first half will draw a few laughs from the audience. Bhootnath’s ordeal at the apathetic Afterlife Office, his banter with Akhrot (why doesn’t anybody notice the boy talking to an invisible entity?) and some of Bhau’s lighter moments are quite engaging. It is the second half which takes not a dip but a downward plunge into electoral politics, the need to vote and jingoism which will have today’s jaded audience roll their eyes.

A lot of the film goes in explaining Bhootnath’s eligibility as a candidate and in stoking the audience into being responsible citizens of a democracy. The team behind the film knows that they are making something on a topical subject and they go full-throttle to shake up the indifferent. But the relentless bombardment of patriotism over two-and-a-half-hours can get to be a bit much, at a time of the ruckus over election news.

However, if you can get past the sermonising, you will find excellent performances and some great dialogue that spring up from nowhere. Bhootnath Returns could have easily, very easily, received a three star rating where it woefully falls short only because of slow pacing. But it has its heart in the right place.

Amitabh Bachchan and Parth Bhalerao are a great tag-team of retorts and bounce of each other’s energy. Although, it’s Boman Irani who surprises yet again as Bhau. It seems that there is no role he can’t pull off. Sanjay Mishra is also incredible as the lawyer-cum-mechanic who helps the leading duo with the election.

Bhootnath Returns may have a rocky second half but is still worth the journey that gets you there. It may not be the best social commentary on the common man, but judging by the few that released this year, it is still better.