Review : Baabul

• Rating : Above average (3.9/5)
  Genre : Drama
  Year : 2006
  Running time : 3 hours
  Director : Ravi Chopra
  Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Om Puri, Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Sharat Saxena, Rajpal Yadav, Parmeet Sethi, Aman Verma

BAABUL : AN EMOTIONAL FATHER-DAUGHTER WEEPIE

To be fair, let me state that I did not like “Baghbaan” – I found it so insufferable that I left it mid-way. This one, although by the same director, I was rather keen to see, because the topic seemed interesting. And then there’s Rani Mukherjee and Bachhan to consider – an awesome acting pair they make.

So, see I did. And liked it. It is in parts, clichéd and trite, and with some dialogues I really wondered whether the director was regressing to his “Baghbaan-ish” self. Thankfully he only regressed in parts, so the movie as a whole came together without too much surplus emotion lapping at the edges.

The kahani which is “Prem Rog” –ish in 2006, is of urban city girl Malvika (Rani), who’s living life painting and selling those paintings (i.e.; successful painter). She meets richie-rich Avinash Kapoor (Salman) on a golf course (yeah she’s painting there – imaginative scripting this), and of course they fall in love, marry, have a kid – the works. Avinash’s dad Balraaj (Amitabh) is the Punjabi patriarch who loves his son greatly and is stricken when that son dies. Of course Malavika is in worse shape, and when Balraaj sees her condition, he resolves to help her overcome it by bringing into her life old friend Rajat (John) . . .

Now, Rani is one of the main reasons I went to see the film, and I must say she comes through on this one. She looks beautiful, acts superbly – she might be the rare breed of Bollywood heroine with beauty and acting skills in equal proportions. Amitabh is the other star, who delivers his (sometimes corny) lines with such aplomb, that I want to get up and applaud, especially towards the end when he so forcefully advocates for the rights of fellow-man/woman over some cold, phony rituals. And Hema Malini (as Balraj’s wife Shobhna), although I like the way she looks even at this age, can’t act. She never could, could she ? “Seeta aur Geeta” didn’t require it that much. A little whip-flicking and you were done. And now a little hand-wringing and those helpless flutters, and she thinks she’s done.

Salman brings to this film good-humor, bonhomie and some comedic moments. Rajpal Yadav is totally wasted – he’s the driver and general help of the Balraj household. Such a fantastic actor and he is forced to demean himself in these 2 bit roles. And Abraham, although he isn’t the best actor in the world, seems so likeable, that he fits his part anyway. I must mention here, that it’s hard to make John look bad – visually that is. But the Chopra camp sure has tried. They put him in a loud yellow (no it’s not off-white) sherwani, at the shaadi and he looks like an absolute bhangi. They also put Amitabh in a pinkish sherwani (designer color blind ?) which doesn’t suit him at all. Rani look gorgeous in her full-sleeved blouse-georgette sari ensemble in one of the dance sequences and Hema dances as gracefully as ever.

The songs were OK, I thought. The one catchy number appears right at the beginning, with repartees between the father Balraj and son Avi. Also of mention is the title number “Kehta hai Baabul” which is heard in refrains in the movie. The almost classical “Bawri piya ki” is also very nice and filmed pretty artistically. Most of the song sequences, which were generally family affairs are filmed slickly, lots of color, glitz and glamour, gorgeous sets, beautifully choreographed moves, and those now ubiquitous long-legged, mini-skirted, foreign dancers. Johar sure made a trend with “Shava Shava”.

Now, the story is about the value of our daughters – be they widows or not. The underlying theme is the perennial struggle of societal customs versus humanity, and how we ought to discard old traditions when they no longer make sense. And although I agree with the general theme here, and pretty much why I also liked the film, I was snorting a little at some of the chauvinistic thinking that accompanied it. Like how Balraj would think that his DIL’s happiness would only be another marriage, or the assumption that the bahu would take kindly to the FIL forcing her into a marriage, ready or not. Or the notion that a woman is “adhuri” (incomplete) without her sindoor (check out John mumbling that mouthful).

The direction is OK. The film tends to flag a little towards the interval, and post-interval the melancholic music tends to get you down. Although this is an entertainer, and a weepie, it tends to get “stretchy” as emotional films are wont to do. I am thankfull that although Chopra milks the father-daugther love for all it’s worth, he’s still not overdone it, Baghbaan style. This time he gets the balance almost right.

I was told that the director initially shot a movie 5.5. hours long and then edited it to it’s present length. This made me deathly afraid that I’d have to endure a film of nightmarish proportions (4 hours ??), because desi directors find their footage so hard to cast-off. However this film ends at a seemly 3 hours – just enough to polish off those pakoras after the interval.

I’m not promising that I’d see this film again, but for one watch, this was worth the money.