Baghbaan Reviews @ SKUnlimited

Baghbaan Reviews

    You know this happens? I know of somebody who went through the same experience," a woman was telling her companion.
    Similar conversations were taking place among other viewers in the preview theatre screening Ravi Chopra's Baghban. Obviously, I wasn't the only one getting emotionally involved with the tale unfolding on the screen. The man sitting next to me, who was discreetly dabbing his eyes in the first half, gave up all attempts at discretion post-interval. He would remove his spectacles ever so often to wipe his tears.
    Actually, Baghban's tale is as old as Time. It is about the sacrifices parents make in order to give their children a good life, only to be spurned by them in their old age. What makes Baghban different from the numerous films that have tackled this subject earlier is the on-going romance between the lead couple.
    Raj (Amitabh Bachchan) and Puja Malhotra (Hema Malini) are very much in love even after 40 years of marriage. They do everything a lead couple does in any other Bollywood film -- romance, sing and dance.
    Their four sons, and their families, are well-settled (thanks to Raj, who even gives them the last of his savings). All is well until Raj retires. Then, it is time for the sons to take on the responsibility of their parents. But none of them are willing to do so, particularly when they realise Raj has no money left. So the Malhotra children come up with a solution. Each son agrees to take care of one parent for a period of six months.
    Raj is not too happy with the idea. He warns Puja, 'They want to separate us, not share our love.' Puja's motherly heart, however, can't believe her children can be so callous. Raj defers to her and the two separate. But neither of them is happy and the children soon start ill-treating them.
      This is when Alok, the adopted son, steps in; he does not change their lives but he loves them unconditionally. He even has their picture among the deities he prays to every morning. Besides, there's Hemant Patel (Paresh Rawal) and his wife, Shanti (Lilette Dubey); strangers who, because of their warmth and kindness, become an important part of Raj's life.
    Baghban has a high emotional quotient. Director Ravi Chopra retains his audience's interest in the lives of Raj and Puja Malhotra. Despite some unconvincing moments in the plot, Baghban keeps the
viewers involved all the way to the climax.
    The film belongs to Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. Although the story was conceived 30 years ago and was to star Dilip Kumar, Baghban seems tailor-made for Bachchan. He is wonderful. He sings, dances, romances, cries and makes you cry.
    Hema, as the director rightly says in his interview to rediff.com, has improved tremendously. And she looks gorgeous. Salman Khan is restrained as the adopted son deeply indebted to his mentors. Both he and Mahima Chaudhry, who plays his love interest, make their presence felt in the little screen time allotted to their special appearance.
    Paresh Rawal and Lilette Dubey provide some of the film's lighter moments with their entertaining performance. Aman Verma, Sameer Soni, Salil Chadda and Nasir Khan are average as the sons.
    Composer Aadesh Shrivastava has to be commended for making Bachchan sound so wonderful in the songs. Baghban is a treat for Bahchan fans. He sings four songs -- a wonderful Holi track, Chali chali the peppy dance number, the title track and the soulful Main yahan tu wahan that he sings for his wife over the telephone. It brought back memories of Mahaan, where Bachchan sings Jidhar dekhoon teri tasveer nazar aati hai for Waheeda Rehman over the phone.
    Talking about similarities, I have to clarify that Baghban is not a remake of the Rajesh Khanna-Shabana Azmi starrer, Avtaar. Saying anything more would be a giveaway; I'm sure you would prefer to watch the film instead.

Rediff

Baghban

By Taran Adarsh

The bonding between the parent and child to the sad turn of events at the sunset of the parent's life, have been depicted in various films in the past.

B.R. Chopra's BAGHBAN, directed by Ravi Chopra, takes a look at the delicate relationship between parent and child. In terms of story, it comes very close to three films – ZINDAGI [Sanjeev Kumar, Mala Sinha], AVTAAR [Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi] and SWARG [Rajesh Khanna].

Despite similarities, BAGHBAN works, mainly because of the rich emotional appeal it has to offer.

BAGHBAN is the story of Raj Malhotra [Amitabh Bachchan], his wife Pooja [Hema Malini] and their four sons [Aman Verma, Samir Soni, Sahil Chadda, Nasir].

Just like a gardener ['baghban'] who plants a sapling and nurses it till it blossoms into a tree, in the hope that he would be able to bask in its shade when he grows old, Raj and Pooja have raised their sons, all well settled in their lives, with utmost care.

But equations change when Raj retires from his bank job. None of the four sons are ready to take their parents' responsibility.

The sons work out a strategy: The father would live with the eldest [Aman], the mother with the second son [Samir]. And after six months elapse, they would shift to the third and fourth sons [Sahil, Nasir].

Raj and Pooja, who love each other dearly, are separated in their old age…

If the separation of the parents bears a striking resemblance to ZINDAGI [Sanjeev Kumar and Mala Sinha underwent a similar situation in this 1977 film], the pre-climax [adopted son Salman Khan, an orphan, entering the scene] and the climax [in a turn of events, the parents become rich and the greedy sons re-emerge on the scene] is very similar to AVTAAR.

Yet, despite the comparisons and the feeling of déjà vu, BAGHBAN rises to the occasion. The emotional quotient in the film is enough to overcome all shortcomings.

Director Ravi Chopra, who has attempted various genres in the past [ZAMEER, THE BURNING TRAIN, MAZDOOR, AAJ KI AWAZ], is most comfortable attempting this genre. Not that the film is without its share of flaws –

From the script point of view, the reason that compels the parents to live separately looks baseless. For, barely 5 minutes ago, at the farewell party hosted in his honour, Raj Malhotra [Bachchan] had publicly announced that he'd want to spend the remaining life with his wife, not working in an 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. job. Why, he even refuses a two-year extension by the bank manager on these grounds.

Moreover, there is no solid reason for the parents to accept this kind of an arrangement. They have a beautiful house [bungalow] to live, a kind-hearted landlord [Sharat Saxena], good friends [Avtar Gill, Asrani] and most important, the love for each other to walk into the sunset of their lives, holding each other's hands.

A few more flaws –

The in-film advertising/surrogate publicity of ICICI Bank and Tata Tea in the first few reels should've been done more classily. Showing close-ups of Tata Tea pouch over and over again looks odd.

While the first half is short and sweet, things go out of hand in the second part. Ideally, this 20-reel-film should've been shorter in length. A lot could've been conveyed in a concise format definitely.

There was no need for the Holi song, Valentine Day song and the telephone track ['Main Yahan Tu Wahan'] – these tracks could've easily been avoided. If deleted, it would only prove beneficial to the film.

Salman Khan's characterisation is straight out of a fairy tale. In a film that tries to depict reality, the character that Salman portrays should've been more realistic and identifiable.

Fortunately, the film is rich in emotions and a couple of sequences linger in your memory even after the show has concluded –

* The meeting between the four sons and the strategy they adopt to keep their parents separate, is straight out of life.

* The interaction between Amitabh and Samir Soni on various occasions – when Amitabh accidentally breaks his glasses and the typewriter sequence – are well penned and well enacted.

* The 'karwa chowth' sequence holds tremendous appeal for ladies.

* Hema visiting Aman's office to wish him on his birthday and the argument that ensues subsequently is another sensitive sequence.

* Lilette Dubey reading Hema's letter to Amitabh, since the latter has broken his glasses accidentally, is rich in emotions.

* The climax – when Amitabh talks about the parent-child relationship – is simply outstanding. It's bound to draw applause.

Achala Nagar's script draws inspiration from life and besides some well-penned sequences, the dialogue compliment the narrative beautifully. Amitabh's oration in the climax is brilliant.

Aadesh Shrivastava's music gels well with the mood of the film. 'Meri Makhna Meri Soniye' and 'Pehle Kabhi Na Mera Haal Aisa Hua' [Salman, Mahima] are melodious. Cinematography [Barun Mukherji] is striking.

Amitabh Bachchan delivers a wonderful performance. Although the veteran had enacted the role of the family head in the recent past [EK RISHTAA, K3G], this one towers above the rest. It's yet another memorable performance in his illustrious career.

Hema Malini looks elegant and conveys the pathos convincingly. The actress hasn't lost her sheen at all. Paresh Rawal and Lilette Dubey are lovable.

Amongst the 'sons', Aman Verma stands out. Samir Soni is alright, while Saahil and Nasir get no scope. As for the 'daughters-in-law', Divya Dutta scores full marks. Suman Ranganathan is passable.

Yash Pathak is cute and confident. Rimi Sen [leading lady of HUNGAMA] doesn't get any scope. Also, casting her as Aman Verma and Suman Ranganathan's daughter looks ridiculous. Nakul, Avtar Gill, Asrani and Sharat Saxena perform their parts ably.

Salman Khan has a song and sequence in the first half and comes on the screen only towards the pre-climax. He does an okay job. Mahima Chaudhary doesn't get any scope.

On the whole, BAGHBAN has strong emotions as its trump card, which will appeal to the family audience more than the youth. At the box-office, if the word of mouth catches on, this 'gardener' [BAGHBAN] will be rewarded with fruits, like its predecessors.

Rating:- * * .

2nd October – a national holiday proved out to be a great start for a family entertainer – Baghban. We reached Liberty Cinema at Marine Lines at 5:30 PM and before we could enter the theatre premises, were thronged by a lineup of black-wallas who were seen happy after a long hiatus of time. And though we went there just to cover the viewer response, we were offered tickets at around 200-250 bucks (more than double the counter price).

We then patiently waited till around 5:45 PM to get the audience reaction to this 3 hour plus movie. And as the first round of audience came out, though a major section had emotional hangover on their faces (as a result of the film's strongly emotionally charged climax), nevertheless they looked satisfied by the movie. First things first, the Amitabh – Hema screen chemistry was loved by one and all. Also all agreed to the fact that Amitabh sings flawlessly and dances gracefully (though not differently) even at the age of 60.

Here are some excerpts of the viewers' comments exclusively covered by INDIAFM.

One said “Film mein bahut emotions hai, aaj kal ke baccho ko is film se kuch seekhna chahiye.” Other said “Kaafi arse baad family ke saath baithkar dekhne jaisi film aayi hai”. One even went to the extent that “mein film dekhkar bahut roya, pichle 40 saalo mein maine aisi film nahi dekhi".

Thankfully the audience had left behind the Boom hangover, with everyone appreciating Big B's performance. But Salman fans were sort of disappointed to see him in a 2-bit role. Hope they get to see more of him in the Chopra's next venture starring Amitabh and Salman again.

Majority shows of the first week were already booked. But will the positive approach to the film sustain? Would Baghban be able to face the strong oppositions releasing in the coming weeks? At a time when thrillers and action films are on their peak, do emotions still sell? The future prospects of Baghban would give the answer.