Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was spotted on Saturday in Mumbai at the special screening of his upcoming horror comedy flick, Bhoothnath Returns. The acting legend watched the film with filmmaker R Balki and his director wife Gauri Shinde. Jaya Bachchan also accompanied her husband for the screening.

Bhoothnath Returns is a sequel to the original hit Bhoothnath, and stars Big B playing the adorable friendly ghost who fights the prevailing evils in the society.

The movie was recently embroiled in various controversies, with accusations and petitions filed by social activist and a writer. The character Bhoothnath who appeared in an ad commercial for children showed Big B as Bhoothnath, and an activist from Mumbai slammed the charges that the commercial promoted the belief in the existence of ghosts and spirits and propagated the practice of black magic.

The second accusation was filed as a plea by a writer, who complained that the story of the sequel was lifted from his literary works without prior consent. High court is due to hear both the appeals shortly. However, the film is still on scheduled to release as per the plan and no stop was issued so far.

Amitabh Bachchan also appeared recently on the popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, promoting Bhoothnath Returns. The show saw the megastar really participate, interacting with his fans and laugh away to the cheesy jokes cut by the show participants. Furthermore, Big B also sang his trademark song ‘Mere Angane mein’ from his hit film Laawaris, astounding his fans totally.

The director of the movie, Soundarya Ashwin, has confirmed that the release of the mega budget, much hyped 3D animated epic ‘Kochadaiyaan’ starring Rajnikanth has been pushed from the previous date of April 11^th due to the upcoming general elections. Though they have not decided on a new date as of yet, the buzz is that it may come out on May 1^st.

“It was a dream directing my father as a warrior and a dancer, to see him play the ‘rudra thandava’ onscreen,” Said Soundarya. She also denied all rumours that the part was first offered to Big B, Amitabh Bachan, “Rajnikanth had always been my first choice.”

She thanked others involved in the project namely, Deepika Padukone who plays the female lead, Jackie Shroff, Shobhana, Nasser and finally, A.R. Rahman for the soul touching music.

The superstar is appearing in this revolutionary new film for Kollywood in a triple role, no less.

Check out the official Tamil trailer below!

Looks like Amitabh playing the friendly spirit had cast some evil repercussions on the film; first it was the social activist from Mumbai who filed a case against the ad commercial showing Big B as Bhoothnath, and now, it is the writer Sushant Supriya, who claims that the entire idea behind the film has been lifted from his works.

The Delhi High Court agreed to hear the plea of this Hindi writer tomorrow in lieu of the allegations that Bhoothnath Returns is closely based on the writer’s literary works.

A special bench comprising acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul have ordered the listing for tomorrow after the counsel for the writer Sushant Supriya. The film is planned to be released worldwide on April 11 th.

The writer, who came to know about the copyright infringement seeing the trailer, immediately filed for a plea. Another plea from the social activist is also to see a hearing, bearing accusations that Amitabh had directly propagated and supported the existence of ghosts and spirits, not to forget the existence of black magic, in the commercial that was made for children.

The first part, Bhoothnath, managed to fetch some endearing response from children. Amitabh playing that role of a friendly ghost is planted deeply into the mind-sets of children who now await the sequel. However, going by the series of incidents that are happening in connection to the film, a lot of damage control looks pending from the film makers’ end.

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Sharing a great peer camaraderie, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and star daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan launched the trailer of Superstar Rajinikanth’s upcoming opus, Kochadaiiyan. The event was a buzz with the glorious Bachchan parivaar making time to unveil Rajini’s film teaser. While Ash looked dazzling in a Pankaj and Nidhi Anarkali outfit, Big B looked classy in his dark grey blazer. Aishwarya’s mom Vrinda Rai also attended the event along with the Bachchans.

Kochadaiiyan, directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin, the daughter of Tamil superstar is a 3 D film with techno effects on the story of a warrior, Kochadaiyaan. The movie underwent a massive making, roping in the Hollywood technicians coupled with elaborate post production work. Deepika Padukone plays the female lead for the first time opposite Rajini in this magnum opus. The music has been composed by the Madras Mozart A R Rahman.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajinikanth have earlier worked together in Robo, a sci-fi film on the humanoid robot that was dubbed into many languages including Hindi. The bonding between the two families has been affectionate ever since.

Talking about Soundarya’s efforts, Big B had the following to say – “A woman has shown what man could not..Kochadaiiyan film of Rajinikanth directed by daughter Soundarya…first motion capture film” he tweeted on his microblogging site.

The celebrities from the tinsel town got down to be a part of the launch. The list included personalities like Kajol, Goving Nihalani, Anupam Kher, Ramesh Sippy, Kiran Juneja, Kunal Roy Kapur, Neeta Lulla etc., who were seen in their lighter selves on the occasion.

Latest Bollywood sensation Varun Dhawan is making waves in the industry for all the right reasons. Making an impressive debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year, Varun is now on an acting spree, picking up plum projects and playing some remarkable roles. Being the celebrated son of director David Dhawan had never helped him much to carve a niche for himself, and Varun did it his way.

Varun Dhawan finds his inspiration in none other than Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, and considers him as an idol. Dhawan junior will be seen playing the lead role in upcoming film, Main Tera Hero, and the young hero is all excited about his film. Talking about his possible way up the ladder in the Number One slot in Bollywood, the actor shared his views – “I am not in the race for ‘Rs 100 crore club’. For me the most important thing is that the audience enjoys my film and feel that the movie was worth spending” he said.

When asked about how he deals with the criticism and appreciation side by side, Varun replied in his coolest demeanour – “Initially I used to have a problem with criticism but now I take them positively and try to improve myself”

Shaking off the tag called ‘kid with easy means’ was never easy – “I also had to struggle in the industry, despite being the son of David Dhawan. My first film was directed by Karan Johar and he is not even my father’s friend” he said, recalling the fondness for his debut in Student of the Year.

Pune based social activist, Hemant Patil has accused megastar Amitabh Bachchan, saying that the star is promoting superstitious beliefs about ghosts and the spirits by portraying the role of a Bhoothnath in a TV commercial for children. The activist further applied for a police complaint against Big B, with violations according to the existing laws, Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifices, 2014 and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

Amitabh Bachchan recently endorsed a Children’s health drink commercial, where he reprised his screen role of Bhoothnath as in his film, where he played the friendly ghost. The sequel of the original film, Bhoothnath Returns, is to hit the screens soon and the commercial serves as one of the tools promotion for the film.

Talking about his angst, activist Hemanth shared his concerns – “The advertisement promotes belief in the existence of ghosts and spirits and consequently the need for magic to ward them off. This is promoting false beliefs and promoting superstitions” he stated.

The activist also pointed out that the commercial in question did not comply with adding appropriate disclaimer before or after the broadcast, making it a confirmed violation of the above laws. Some parts of cultures in the country are still known to practice such rituals and the laws have been strictly regulated and enforced to avoid any sort of practice, provocation or even the slightest promotion.

Meanwhile, the star is yet to comment or tweet about this accusation hurled directly at him. The commercial house, campaiging the Bhoothnath in the advertisement is also yet to make a statement to this effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9eQd23cCQE