Bhoot And Friends

Okay, so we have one more 'kiddie film' hoping to catch the audience attention this Friday, after the watchable Toonpur Ka Superrhero  last week and the avoidable Rama – The Saviour a few weeks ago. I must confess, when I first glanced at the poster of Bhoot And Friends, I felt it would be an extension of Bhoot Unkle [2006]. Bhoot Unkle as well as Bhoot And Friends are produced by the same name [Aneesh Arjun Dev], feature the same actor as ghost [Jackie Shroff] and feature Bhoot in their titles. Furthermore, both feature kids in pivotal parts. Quite a few similarities…

Bhoot And Friends, directed by Kittu Saluja [Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii; 2007], is extremely low on hype. In fact, the awareness is so minimal that you may not have heard of this one at all. And even if you've heard of it, chances are you may not be too willing to invest two hours of your precious life on this movie since kiddie films made in India, generally, haven't been successful in cutting across the entire spectrum of movie-going audience - from kids to grown-ups.

As a film, Bhoot And Friends surprises you sporadically [the animation in the second half and the pre-climax, when the kids are thrown in a dark cave, are absorbing], but the problem lies in the fact that it uses the usual stunts and tricks [of kids throwing marbles and nails to make the villains slip on floor/road, kids combating an entire army of villains effortlessly etc.] and also corny and clichéd jokes that look completely out of place in today's times. I am sure, even kids would find those portions ridiculously childish.