Baabul

Baabul, also known as Father's Affection for His Daughter, is a 2006 Indian and French drama, family and romance film directed by Ravi Chopra and produced by NH Studioz. And produced and published by Narendra Hirawat & Co; The screenplay of the film Father of the Bride was also written jointly by Ravi Chopra, Achala Nagar and Sameer, and actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Hema Malini, John Abraham, Rani Mukherjee, Om Puri, Sarika Thakur, Aman Verma, Sharat Saxena etc. Have played a role in it; Also, this film was released for the first time on December 8, 2006 by NH Studioz and Narendra Hirawat & Co. In cinemas in India and America and managed to sell approximately 9 million dollars worldwide; The film Father of the Bride received many positive reviews from the critics after its release, so that the direction, the acting of the actors, especially the charming acting of Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, the script, the characterizations, the emotional sequences, the soundtrack and also the story line were praised; After participating in the international festivals of Bollywood Awards and Filmfare Awards, the movie Father of the Bride was nominated for 2 awards for the best supporting actor with John Abraham.

I saw this movie yesterday, the cinema in Vienna was sold out. Despite of critics "right from the beginning you will know there will be a happy end..." there was an important message in the end of the movie. It opened my eyes widely, not knowing that the widow' problem in India is still so actual. I usually wait for a hidden message watching Indian movies and this was a very strong one. It was one of the best movies with excellent Amitabh Bachchan and Rani. I saw KANK one week ago, but I preferred Baabul because it's so human, it's so pure, there are scenes I'll never forget because of the thoughts spoken. To put it in the nutshell, I saw about 60 Indian movies so far and Baabul is one of my favorite movies.

¤ Big B:: Starts off as a pampered Papa and later dons the cap of Rajaram Mohan Roy. As an actor he has gone beyond the stage of judgement. The penultimate moments are reserved for the lion to roar.

¤ Dream Girl:: Not quite as good as "Baghbaan" in terms of characterisation for the simple fact that this time the Bahu hogs the entire lime-light resulting in animosity in the "Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" episode.

¤ Rani Mukherjee:: Personally I found the character was presented in OTT. Wonder why the character was presented with a complete "U" turn.

¤ Salman/ John:: In their own right, they were just a regular fare.

¤ Sarika:: Very short role but it was nice to see her in a Big B movie after Nastik.

The usual "Baghbaan" cast Aman Verma, Avtar Gill, Sharat Saxena were adequate.

Films from the baton of B R Chopra are noted for the social message that is interlaced in them. It had a fair success riding on their USP. The last outing "Baghbaan" created a milestone in its own right primarily because the social issue it addressed was staring right in the face of "India Shining" and the audience was able to instant connect with "Reverse Mortgage". In the next outing, taking "widow remarriage" as the key-issue with the same ingredients, does it manage to recreate the "Baghbaan" magic? Sadly not because its not quite a burning issue in contemporary times and it comes across as the character (Rani Mukherjee) sans practicality/ common sense to the extent of nearly classified as an emotional fool.

This film has absolutely nothing new to offer. Not in terms of story or treatment or dialogs...The dialogs are pathetic and the romantic situations juvenile. I felt the actors were all okay except of course John Abraham who is simply terrible. The director, I believe, wanted to cash on the star power of Salman and hence had given him lot of screen time but the script was simply not up to the mark to justify his presence. The film has its moments but these come too abruptly and end too quickly. It is a pity that with reasonably good actors and a genuinely good concept, the director manages to make this mess . You can watch it once in a DVD, perhaps, but spending 10 dollars on this is way too much!

A reviewer once said about Bollywood that "if it's a colour, use it" and Baabul is anything if not colourful. There are lots of what could be euphemistically described as vibrant colours on screen at any given time. The plot, such as it is, revolves around love found, love lost and love re-found. All clocking in at little under three hours, with the characters bursting into song at the slightest provocation. Some of the choreography for the song and dance sequences must have taken ages to put together. As usual in Indian films, kissing is taboo and the romantic sequences are remarkably chaste by western standards. All the actors should have life memberships of the academy of over-acting. Emotional nuance is not really the name of the game here. But the actors sure are good looking, even those with grandchildren. They seem to have discovered the fountain of youth. While all of this doesn't sound like a glowing review, points have to be granted for the sheer positive life-force of this film and its life affirming message.