I don’t remember the exact date, but someday in my childhood, I heard a saying. “When trees flourish, they forget about their roots”. This single line is enough to describe the movie Baghban. A complete family movie starring very old duo, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. Before watching this movie, when I saw all those trailers and press releases, to be quite honest, I was not at all impressed. Who wants to watch a common family movie, which contains clashes between parents and their children these days? So I went to the theater with a light mood, to watch a movie and come back and crack jokes on it. But my god! I was so touched with the fact that actually I recommended some of my friends to watch the movie and whenever they went to see it, I was their common companion. This story is based on Indian culture and very much down to the Earth. Let me introduce the best family movie of the year (According to me) Baghban.
****Facts**** Director: Ravi Chopra Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Paresh Rawal, Lillet Dubey, Aman Varma, Suman Rangnathan, Rimi Sen and others.
**** Storyline ****
Baghban means the gardener. The person who plants trees, nourish them and help them grow in front of his own eyes. The man has a dream of getting shelter in the shades of those plants at the end of his life, to get help from these grown up trees in his last days. So is Raj Malhotra (Amitabh
Bachchan) in this movie. A veteran worker of a private concern, having a life wife (Hema Malini) and four children . He spent all of his earnings to help his children grow up and be established. All four of them are well established now and are staying in separate locations with their families. Problem starts when Raj retires from his job. He calls all his sons and tells them that till now he has done whatever was possible for him for his children, now he wants his children to take care of them.
This brings havoc in the minds of his own children. None of them was really ready to take them home. So, after much hesitations and problems, they mutually agreed that one of them will take their father and other will take their mother and will keep them six months with them. Then they will again be shifted to another pair of children. Though his wife was against it, Raj took it lightly. He thought that his children are too happy to take them that even they can’t decide what to do at that moment. So, the aged couple gets separated and starts living their humiliating lives.
One day, Raj meets the owner of the local café. The owner (Paresh Rawal) and his wife (Lillet Dubey) takes Raj as their elder brother and Raj also finds a home away from home and starts coming to their café regularly. It is there he starts writing his biography “Baghban” with the typewriter his wife gave him as present someday in past.
This is very hard for me to stop before finishing this movie, but may be it’ll be better for you viewers. Only thing I can tell you is about a twist that will change the entire situation of the storyline. But no more. Let me tell you about the acting part of this movie.
*** Acting ***
Amitabh Bachchan doesn’t need an introduction, so is Hema Malini. Both of them were more than superb in portraying their roles in the movie. The caring father, the loving husband and a watchful person: this is the nature analysis of Raj Malhotra. He does everything for his children, but gets nothing in return. He gets help from the most unexpected persons, be it the owner of the café or the old colleagues of the same office. In two phases of his life, once he was working, and another time, when he was humiliated everyday by his own children, Amitabh was simply great to portrait the two characters of Raj Malhotra in front of the viewers.
Hema Malini did a great supporting job to Amitabh Bachchan. She played a typical Indian house wife, who loves her children, but when sees the humiliation of her husband and of herself, turns her face from her very own children. She is always aware of her husband and always advises him to take medicines, not to expose to cold and so on.
Paresh Rawal once again was in a great side role. He is a versatile actor of Indian film industry. He can do Hera Pheri, the brilliant comedy, can play the lead role in Sardar, the biography of Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel, and can do his extremely appreciated role in Baghban. So was Lillet Dubey, she has also performed very well as the wife of Paresh Rawal.
Salman Khan and Mahima Choudhury was also nice, but the role of Salman Khan was very much ideal. Generally human beings are not perfect, you know. The children of Amitabh, I can’t remember all of their names, but Aman Varma, Suman Rangnathan and newcomer Rimi Sen was good to watch.
There is a saying, if, seeing the acting of a villain you feel like slapping him, then consider the villain as one of the greatest. I don’t know how far this is true, but I really felt sometimes, if I were there, I would have slapped all four of the children very hard.
The music was superb, without much dancing around the tree stuffs. They are soothing to your ears and very well written lyrics, I must admit.
*** Conclusion ***
In Indian society, it is not at all a shame for parents to take shelter to their children. On the contrary it is inhuman for the children to neglect their parents when they need them. This movie ends with a question. This is a true life story. There are thousands Raj Malhotras in India who are living their last years with hope to see their children and if possible, to live with them to live happily. All are not as lucky as Raj. They even don’t get the help of their neighbors also. So, in India the concept of the old age home is booming. Myself being at the age to look after my parents, I can ask myself one question. I think everyone in our society should ask himself. If our parents can help us grow up and see the best side of the world, or at least try to fulfill all of our desires and demands in our childhood, then isn’t it comes in our duties to look after them? Don’t they need a bit more sympathy from us? Don’t they deserve their fates someway better than what Raj Malhotra and his wife received?
Finally I must admit, a complete family movie. If you buy this movie, you’ll not regret at any cost. This is the type of movie you can watch for hours, without any tension, without any violence. The director takes you from the happy life of Raj Malhotra through the suffering of them to the poetic justice at the end.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Ain't seen this film yet, maybe my dad'll bring it home, though at first the story line etc. does not sound promising, now I'll recommend it to my Dad, Nicole :D
Raj Malhotra and Pooja are happily married with four grown up sons. After sacrificing ... more
everything for his sons, he decides to take up retirement with the hope of his sons looking after them.But when he retires, life suddenly changes. None of the four so...
![Baghban [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78510279.jpg "Baghban [DVD] [2003]")
May 31st, 2004
very helpful by (100%):
