Baabul

It's clear here that Ravi Chopra has tried to capitalize on success of Baghbaan. He has tried to collect a similar cast & similar slot but not the plot. The story is too long expressed in too short of a time. Movie has an OK storyline & good concept of Vidhwa Vivah (not sure how much it holds true in 21st century though, its far more different now) but the execution does not give enough time to emotions. The movie moves so fast that its difficult to enjoy the happiness & feel the pain of characters.

In first half of the movie it's like a budding love story (Chalte-Chalte), an existing love triangle (KKHH), father-son relationship (Viruddh/Waqt), a happy family story and lots of stuff. And suddenly in second part it becomes a sad story of reincarnation of love (Hum-Tum), re-marriage, traditions & what not. Movie has so much to express but the screenplay does not allow it to be shown efficiently on screen. Movie does has a few gud moments but hardly any time to really enjoy or feel them.

Amitabh & Rani have been gr8 as always Amitabh-Hema still look stunning. Even Salmaan & John have given nice performances. Not sure what Parmeet & Aman were doing in the movie though, they have got better work on small screen I guess. Overall performances are fine & movie looks okay too (cinematography). Songs & Music also seems fare.

In all the movie is fine & okay for one time watch. However with such a great cast & return of team Baghbaan (even the concept is nice), everyone expected a lot better. That's right...

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.

¤ 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.

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.

General Comment: It wasn't terrific because the storyline was average,the acting was not brilliant except for Amitabh Bhachan who was superb,the songs were crap.

Storyline: Balraj Kapoor (Amitabh Bhachan) is looking for happiness for his daughter in law Millie (Rani Mukherjee) after his son,Avinash (Salman Khan) who is madly in love with his wife Millie. What Millie does not know is that her best friend Rajat (John Abraham) is in love with her but he wants Rani Mukherjee to be happy so he does not say anything to her when she is getting married to Avinash. But when Avinash dies Amitabh Bhachan tries to get Millie married to Rajat. But as you know in the Indian religion a widow is not allowed to get married after her husbands death so Balrajs older brother (Balwant) does not want Millie to get married again but later he realises what Millie must be going through so lets her get married to Rajat.