Amitabh Bachchan unveils the first look of Bhoothnath

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'Deadly' Bachchan!

Is that the Boogeyman, we asked almost instantaneously when we got a dekko of Amitabh Bachchan's *avatar *in Ravi Chopra's next production, Bhoothnath. Long nails, ruffled hair, termite nibbled jacket, unkempt appearance, the actor par excellence seems to have traveled to hell and back for his look in the film.

Bachchan Sr. however is quick to give due credit to director Vivek Sharma. "The director had a vision, I simply did what was asked of me," he said. Look designer Muneesh Sappel shares, "We had several options, I'm happy with our choice and the final outcome." And while producer Chopra describes Bhooth Bachchan's look as 'rocking', make-up man Deepak Sawant informs that Amitabh used to take one and a half hours to get into the ghostly garb, and only thirty minutes to get out of it.

Apparently, the first day of shoot was quite eventful. "There were a group of people waiting outside Amit*ji*'s van for his autograph, and when he emerged in his get-up, they were stunned and actually took a step back,"
narrates director Sharma, "He then tried to scare Juhi and everyone else on the sets, too. It was fun. There were screams and lots of laughter. Amit*ji*was extremely co-operative. Not once did he complain."

The *ghostly *experience was anything but ghastly for Bachchan. "It was 'deadly', literally and figuratively speaking. I enjoyed myself," he tells us. The movie, however, isn't one from the horror genre. "The kids are going to love it as much as the parents," explains Ravi Chopra. Bachchan, in the course of the motion picture, metamorphoses into a good 'soul'. So lets toast to this ghost who is actually a *dost*!

Urvashi Ashar, Indiatimes Movies

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Juhi claps for SRK !!!

The Indian film industry is rooted in superstitions. But not all superstitions are silly. This one is rather cute. Juhi Chawla believes that if she does the “clap” for the film’s first shot, the film will be a success.

She did it for Bol Radha Bol and Ishq.. and now for Bhootnath.

The first day of shoot was in Goa, two hours away from the hotel where the cast and crew were staying. Juhi traveled to that location at an ungodly hour to give the clap for the first shot.

Recalls debutant director Vivek Sharma, “Juhi was very keen to do it. Although she had to travel a distance, the actress was completely gung-ho. Believe me, my film, Bhootnath has been built on such relationships.”

Her favourite co-star Shah Rukh Khan was facing the camera for that shot. So what’s a little distance for friends, at least that’s what the chirpy Juhi believes. And for her efforts, here’s a big ‘clap’ for her.

Chuman Das, Indiatimes Movies

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Big B records two rap songs

At 65, Amitabh Bachchan remains indefatigable. Even as he continues to shoot for a number of films juggling dates among Mumbai, Goa and Delhi in the last one week, he also found the energy, breath and time to record three songs for Vishal-Shekhar for two different films.

"That's not all. One more song remains to be recorded for Sujoy Ghosh's Alladin as soon as I return to Mumbai," the Big B said from Goa where he’s shooting for debutant director Vivek Sharma's Bhootnath. Big B plays a ghost in Sharma's film. "I've sung a rap song for Vishal-Shekhar for my ghost's character in Bhootnath and another rap song for my djinn's character in Alladdin. Plus I recorded a soft lyrical number for Bhootnath. As soon as I return I'll record one more song for Alladin."

Vishal-Shekhar who've composed this carnival of crooning for the Big B, have been working on a non-film album of Abhishek Bachchan's hip-hop for producer Rohan Sippy for the last one year. That too will have singing inputs from the senior Bachchan.

"It looks like the music composers are thinking of an alternative career for me. They obviously don't think much of me as an actor," the Big B jokes before flying off to the London Film Festival for Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, a film for which the actor's vocal prowess has come into much praise.

Subhash K. Jha, IndiaFM

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