Big B plays a ghost politician in Bhoothnath Returns

Amitabh Bachchan

While it is a known fact that Amitabh Bachchan will be reprising the role of his character Kailash Nath’s ghost in the sequel to Bhoothnath titled Bhoothnath Returns, it is now revealed that the actor will be seen contesting elections as a ghost in the film. Jointly produced by BR Films and Bhushan Kumar, it will see Kailash Nath’s (Bachchan) ghost pitted against a popular local politician (played by Boman Irani) in the elections, who cannot fathom the fact that a ghost is up against him and thinks that the residents are up to some evil. While confirming the news at the trailer launch last week, the actor stated, “Kailash Nath’s ghost has finally attained salvation after the havan performed by Banku’s family in the last film. During one of his missions as a ghost, he comes across Akhrot, a young kid who is known for his bizarre and funny ways.” It is this meeting that compels Nath to think about the condition in which the poor are living. After being persuaded by Akhrot, Nath decides to stand for elections, since there is no rule that says dead people can’t contest polls!
Marathi child artist Parth Bhalerao, whose film Killa was recently in the news for earning the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, plays Akhrot in Bhoothnath Returns. When quizzed about replacing the child actor in the film, Bachchan stated that actor Aman Siddiqui is now a grown up lad, and the role required an eight year old. “Banku toh ab bada ho gaya hain. Mujhse jyada lamba, shayad (laughs). Humein ek chota sa hero chahiye tha. So, Nitesh Tiwari zeroed in on Parth. Yeh toh zabardast actor hain bhai, mujhe takkar dega. I am zero, because he is the real hero of this film,” said Bachchan. Bhalerao, who accompanied Bachchan on stage dressed in his character’s garb, confidently told the media that he was blessed to get this opportunity. “On the first day of shoot, I was extremely nervous. I developed cold feet at the mere thought of working with Bachchan uncle. But woh bahut friendly hain. Bilkul mere baaki friends ki tarah.”
Tiwari added that although it looks like the film is targetted at children, the story will appeal to people of all age groups, as it also deals with politics.
Shot across Mumbai, the film has Marathi actress Usha Jadhav in the role of Bhalerao’s mother. Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan will be seen doing cameos in the film. While Kapoor plays himself, Khan will be reprising his role from the first film. Bachchan added that he will not be seen sharing screen space with Kapoor or Khan in the film, as those scenes do not require him at all.
Bhoothnath Returns is set to hit the screens on April 11.

Hindi, Tamil remake of Kaksparsh complete

By Namita Nivas

Following the success of the Mahesh Manjrekar-directed 2012 Marathi film, Kaksparsh, the makers have now completed the shooting of its Hindi and Tamil remake directed by Manjrekar, on February 24 in Konkan region in Maharashtra. The film is a touching tale of the relationship that a young widow shares with her reformist father-in-law. While Priya Bapat and Sachin Khedekar were in the original film, South star, Arvind Swamy makes a comeback in the remake which also stars Tisca Chopra, Milind Soman, Adinath Kothare and Bharati Achrekar.
To reach a national audience, Manjrekar had to make certain changes to suit the general sensibilities. Based on a story penned by Usha Datar, the film is a love saga set in the 1930-1950 in Konkan.