''Bhoot Returns'' () is a 2012 Indian
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
3D horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
and written by Ravi Shankar. The film was released on 12 October 2012 to mixed reviews.
The film stars
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu language, Telugu, Bengali language, Bengali, Mala ...
,
J. D. Chakravarthy,
Madhu Shalini
Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''.
Metaphorical use
''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...
and Alayana Sharma in the lead role. Although advertised as a sequel to the 2003 film ''
Bhoot'', also directed by Varma, the two film's do not have any connection with one another and have complete different plots A further sequel, Bhoot 3 is in production.
Plot
Tarun, an architect, moves into a luxurious bungalow with his wife, Namrata, and their children, 10-year-old Taman and 6-year-old Nimmi. During an exploration of the house, Nimmi finds a doll, and includes someone named 'Shabbu' in all her activities. The family mistakes Nimmi's new doll to be Shabbu but are surprised when Nimmi points to an empty space and introduces her invisible friend as Shabbu. Her parents suspect her wild imagination as the reason for her new 'friend'.
Soon, Tarun's younger sister, Pooja, surprises the family with a visit. As Tarun, Namrata and Pooja discuss Nimmi's fixation over Shabbu, the family servant, Laxman, is sure of a
spirit's presence in the house. Laxman's worries receive severe backlash from Tarun, an ardent
skeptic
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
. Soon, each night at the bungalow seems to turn for the worse, with knocks at unearthly hours, demonic sounds and eerie movements. Tarun suspects Laxman to be the mischief-maker, trying to prove his points. As Nimmi's fixation with Shabbu increases, the family decides to consult a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist explains Nimmi's imaginary friend as a result of her loneliness and terms it as a common technique used by children to grab attention.
Laxman's sudden disappearance and the increasing curiosity in Pooja to find answers for the ongoing activities make her install wireless cameras at various places in the house, which record Nimmi playing with what seems like a ghostly
apparition. Tarun's mind starts reeling as he sees the captured footage; it is proof enough for the disturbed family to finally decide to leave the house. But the house has other plans: Nimmi is found missing the next morning. The police are called in to investigate but they consider the family delusional and do not take much interest in the matter.
Tarun receives a mysterious phone call, Nimmi's voice from the upper floor, after which they find Laxman murdered. The house seems to be on lock-down and the phones jammed. Taman is mysteriously killed. Nimmi appears possessed by the spirit and tries to kill both her parents, until she's finally burned and defeated with Pooja's help, as the remaining family flee, bloody and injured. Nimmi comes out from the building in low angle, then introduces herself as Shabbu to the neighborhood children.
Cast
*
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu language, Telugu, Bengali language, Bengali, Mala ...
as Namrata Awasthi
*
J. D. Chakravarthy as Tarun Awasthi
*
Madhu Shalini
Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''.
Metaphorical use
''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...
as Pooja
*
Alayana Sharma as Nimmi
*
Bharat Ganeshpure
Bharat Ganeshpure (born August 15, 1969) is an Indian actor and comedian. He is best known for his comical performances in the Marathi television shows Fu Bai Fu and Chala Hawa Yeu Dya (CHYD). Bharat Ganeshpure rose to fame with his performan ...
as Police Inspector
* Nitin Jadhav as Laxman
* Kushank Thacker as Taman
Marketing
The first-look poster was released September 2012.
It depicts a girl with four eyes and two noses in an
optical illusion
Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...
-styled photograph. The poster, however, was termed as a "blatant copy" and a rip-off of a campaign poster made by a
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
-based ad agency to spread awareness against drunken driving.
Official trailer
The first trailer premiered in theaters with the release of ''
Raaz 3
''Raaz 3: The Third Dimension'' is a 2012 Indian 3D horror thriller film directed by Vikram Bhatt, and produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. The movie features Bipasha Basu as the lead and antangonist along with Emraan Hashmi and Esha G ...
''. It features a little girl playing with a spirit in the living room, the scene being captured on webcam. The trailer was certified an "A" rating from the Censor Board of India.
Critical reception
The film received to mixed to negative reviews. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN said the film is time-pass entertainment, as Varma succeeds in keeping you on the edge, and the film does deliver a few good scares in 3D.
Madhureeta Mukherjee of
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
gave it 2 stars. "We did leave with one horrifying thought though – of this Bhoot returning (in a third instalment). Hellllppp!!!" said ToI. Rediff Movies said "Bhoot Returns has quite a few nail-biting moments but ends abruptly" and gave it 2.5 star. Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave it 0.5 star "This Bhoot had no business returning. RGV could have at least saved the original Bhoot from being ruined by trying to make a sequel out of it." wrote Roshni Devi. Social Movie Rating site MOZVO gave it a rating of 2.4 putting it in 'Below Average' category. Taran Adarsh of
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
gave it 1.5 stars. Kanika Sikka of DNA gave it 1.5 stars. Rohan J.Tambe of Independent Bollywood gave it 1.5 stars and said "Save your money and time by skipping this movie.The film was then given a U/A certificate"
Franchise
In 2020 Karan Johar's
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar ...
acquired the rights of Bhoot Franchise, To make their own Bhoot Franchise, first part was
Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship starring
Vicky Kaushal
Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. Kaushal is the recipient of numerous accolades including a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in '' Forbes India'' Celebrit ...
,
Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi films. He has also worked ...
, and
Bhumi Pednekar
Bhumi Pednekar (born 18 July 1989) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. After working as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films for six years, she made her film debut as an overweight bride in the company's romantic come ...
, directed by Bhanu Pratap Singh. Karan Johar revealed that he want to make his own Bhoot trilogy.
References
External links
Bhoot Returns Official Site*
{{Ram Gopal Varma
Indian 3D films
Indian ghost films
2010s Hindi-language films
2012 films
2012 horror films
Indian horror films
Indian sequel films
Films directed by Ram Gopal Varma
2012 3D films
Films scored by Sandeep Chowta
Hindi-language horror films