Baabul

¤ 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.

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" is an interesting movie...much like two entirely separate movies stuck together. The first portion is a very traditional Indian romance...with all the usual cliches, such as the singing montages, the normal meet cute and that she disliked him when they first met. While this was good...it was also incredibly familiar. However, the second portion, in its way, is anything but traditional...heck, it deliberately seeks to subvert traditions....and this is why I grew to eventually love this movie.

In the romantic portion, Avi (Salman Khan) is the beloved son of a rich man, Balraj (Amitabh Bachchan). Avi meets Mili (Rani Mukerji) and instantly is smitten with her. Not surprisingly, they eventually marry. During all this portion, there are hints to what is coming next (such as the aunt who is essentially kept a prisoner following her husband's death). Yes, Avi is killed in an accident and Mili is inconsolable. While she has a son to raise, she is barely functional. And, throughout this, Balraj's heart breaks. This is because although she is technically his daughter-in-law, he sees her like a daughter and would do anything to take away her pain. So, he formulates a plan...to find Rajat (John Abraham) and bring him back to court Mili and, hopefully, marry her and give her a reason to live.

While all this seems pretty reasonable for a non-Indian, there are Indian traditions that many follow that simply could not allow for Mili to remarry. For many, a widow is always a widow.....and her happiness should come from being a widow and staying at home and...well...existing. So how will Balraj deal with his family? His wife doesn't want Mili to marry, as she'll likely leave them...and take the grandchild with her. And, what about Balraj's older brother? He's extremely traditional and will not flex in the least. So what's next?

The final portion of the film deserves an 11 out of 10...it is that good. The giant climactic scene where Balraj is confronted by his family (when they object to Mili's remarriage) is simply brilliant and Bachchan is given a marvelous monolog...one that grips you by the heart and won't let go. Overall, a marvelous film...one you should see with a box of Kleenex nearby!

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.

Well all i can say that I really enjoyed this film it was very unique and different compared to other Indian films that i have watched in the past,i mean most Indian films nowadays have the same sort of storyline, a man meets woman, they fall in love, a sleazy item number to make the movie sell and the happy couple get married, LoL but there was something different about this film that made me go and watch it in the cinema and i am very glad that i did go and see this movie.

Basically what the story is about Sallu meets rani's character, fall in love, have a child and get married. Sallu parents are played by Big B who's role in this movie was just fantastic and the beautiful Hema Malini who i have admired and watched her films since i was a child. Om Puri was also very good in this film too. Sallu And Rani get married and have a child and then sadly he dies in a car crash, i mean when i saw the scene i was pretty shocked, it was really well directed. So Rani is alone with the child and she and her in laws find it hard to come to terms with his death.

Rani had a best friend whom she has known since she was a child played by John Abraham, he too gave a great preforms in the film and was well suited for his role. Now John has been in love with Rani since he was a child and never told her how he felt, Big B decides that the best thing for everyone is to get Rani and John married, he was the right bloke for her and loved her dearly.

Rani does not approve at first and them comes round and the last half and hour of the film would be the best part of the movie in my opinion, all of Big B's family are against the Marrige taken place and they try to stop it, apparently in India women should or are not allowed to get married if there first husband has passed away, i mean why???? and i completely disagree with this , it is totally wrong and immoral, i mean a woman is allowed to live ain't' she? if i was in that situation i would marry again for the sake of my child and my own happiness. So Big B gives this wonderful speech and Om Puri agrees for the couple to be married, so John and Ran do get married in the end and live happily ever after.

The songs were mind blowing in the film also, and the Saree's were really lovely too. I really think that you all should go and watch this great family film and take your parents with you too.