"Bhoothnath" was released on 9 May 2008, receiving positive reviews from critics. It was well received by audiences and popular among children, becoming a success at the box office. The performances of the main cast were praised by critics and audiences alike. A sequel titled Bhoothnath Returns, written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari, was released on 11 April 2014; it shares a remote connection with the original.
One windy night, a young couple sneaks into the Nath Villa, a huge bungalow in Goa, only to discover that a ghost haunts the house, causing them to flee.
Days later, Aditya, an engineer working on a cruise line, moves into the villa for a year along with his wife Anjali and his son Banku. The next day he bids them a brief farewell due to work commitments and Banku attends his first day at school and meets Jojo. On his first day at school, Jojo grows jealous of Banku causing him to play a prank on Jojo and Jojo later tricks Banku into playing a prank on the school principal J.J. Irani, causing him to be caught. After sometime, Jojo and Banku Befriend each other. On that night, Banku sneaks into the living room to eat ice-cream and encounters a ghost named Kailash Nath. Little Banku, who is told by his mother that ghosts do not exist but angels do, considers him to be one and also nicknames him Bhoothnath (from "bhoot" as ghost and "Nath" being his surname). Things become comical when Banku displays no fear of him despite various attempts by Bhoothnath to scare him off and drive him out of the house. Instead the latter keeps getting pranked on by the kid and it becomes a playful fight between the two. Anjali too gets confused at first. One day, Bhoothnath tries to scare Banku again while he is on the edge of the stairs, but it instead results in startling him and causing him to fall down and sustain a head injury, much to his shock. Anjali rushes him to the hospital and Bhoothnath follows. Banku is saved, relieving both. A tearful Bhoothnath apologizes to Banku and the two become best friends. One day, Banku takes Bhoothnath with him to school and Bhoothnath invisibly plays pranks on the school principal, making everyone laugh and causing the principal to be furious. Anjali hears of the incidents at school and slaps Banku, thinking that he is acting weird, ever since he met Bhoothnath and that Anjali cannot see Bhoothnath. Banku distances himself angrily from his mother and Bhoothnath, but they later reconcile. Two days later, Banku defeats Jojo in the annual sports meet and wins a prize. After the sports meet, Jojo, being jealous of Banku winning the prize, tries to trap Banku by throwing him into the well but unfortunately falls for it, causing him to be confronted by Banku himself who later forgives Jojo and helps Jojo to come out of the well. Couple of days later, Banku and Jojo participate in the fancy dress competition and act from the scene of Banku's first encounter with Bhoothnath, surprising Bhoothnath and confusing Anjali. Few days later, Bhoothnath's son Vijay Nath returns from the United States to sell off the house. This angers Bhoothnath as he does not want his home to be demolished and frightens the buyers. Banku tries to calm him down and requests him to appear before his scared mother. He does so, and reveals his story in a flashback.
Many years ago, Kailash had a happy family with his wife Nirmala, his son Vijay and his grandson Vibhut. Some time later, Vijay moved to the US for higher studies and later settled there, to the dismay of his parents. His mother yearned for him to visit her but he hardly contacted them. Kailash was disappointed when Vijay arrived on the day of Nirmala's funeral and then tried to sell off the house. He turned down the buyers, angering Vijay's wife. Vijay requested his father to move with them to America, saying that nothing is left for them in the house but Kailash, who was (and still is) emotionally attached to the house, declined the offer. The next day, Vijay left with his family to the airport all the while Kailash desperately trying to convince him not to leave but he did not listen. While on the way to follow him out of the house, Kailash tripped down the stairs. Unaware that he has just died, Kailash's ghost rose and he ran after Vijay to stop him but Vijay could not see or hear him as he was invisible and he left. Devastated, he walked back inside the house to see his own lifeless body lying on the bottom of the stairs. Seeing his body, he realizes that he is now a ghost.
Aditya, returning from his work after hearing of the story, believes in Bhoothnath's existence after Banku points at a moving chair. He and Anjali decide to perform Bhoothnath's final rites to give him salvation. But Banku is only told that they are "celebrating his birthday" (as the kid is too young to understand the meaning of the ceremony and funeral). Aditya meets Vijay and confronts him. Guilt-ridden, Vijay arrives during the ceremony and apologizes for his mistakes and tells Aditya and Anjali that they can live permanently in the house. Bhoothnath forgives his son and immediately ascends to heaven, having attained peace. Banku, seeing a tearful Bhoothnath disappear, is distraught. The next day he is leaving for school, he is devastated and heartbroken and is missing the ghost. After some time, Bhoothnath appears again, and the two are happily reunited again. He requests Banku and the viewers to hide it. The movie ends with a "To be continued" screen, setting the stage for a sequel.
The film received generally positive response from critics. As of June 2020[update], the film holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews with an average rating of 6.25/10.[2] At the box office, the film had a slow opening, though it managed to gross ₹68 million (US$800,000) among its theatrical run and was declared a semi-hit by Box Office India.[3]
Sequel
As the film finished with a "to-be-continued" ending, a sequel to Bhoothnath was expected, but there was no clear intention. Bachchan and the original production team announced a sequel, titled Bhoothnath Returns, which was co-written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and released on 11 April 2014. Bachchan and Khan reprised their roles, though the latter only had a cameo appearance.
