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Baabul
Director: Ravi Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, John Abraham
Rating: ** ½
Everyone needs a good cry once in a while and in these days of faceless and nameless comedies, Ravi Chopra, who last made Baghban, gives us just that. A touching story of a father-in-law who sets out to get his widowed daughter-in-law married again, it is more effective in its underplayed and silent moments.
When all is fine with the world, love is blossoming and birds are singing, it can be quite trite, especially the scenes in which dad Amitabh Bachchan and son Salman Khan call each other 'Buddy' roughly four times per sentence. But then Amitabh also calls wife Hema Malini 'Biwi', so you figure he needs to define relationships all the time. Luckily, when Salman successfully woos and wins Rani Mukerji, she is called by her name Mili and not 'bahu'. But then Salman spoils it by calling her 'chashmish' with reference to the specs she wears.
Though, one wonders, where do her specs disappear in the second half once Salman has gone? Were they done away with to draw attention to her liquid, limpid, tearful eyes?
Names aside, the first half crowds in too much, the bonhomie in the family, the wooing of Rani by Salman, her acceptance, their marriage with particular emphasis on the kanyadaan sequence, her pregnancy and delivery. Interspersed are songs and more songs and one particularly strange song that speaks of love and longing. What makes this so weird is that this is sung at the child's fourth birthday party. Happy Birthday to you, anyone?
Once Salman is gone though, the film stops trying to be quite so perky. It finally comes into its own as Amitabh appeals to John Abraham, formerly Rani's best friend and secretly in love with her for many years, to bring back her smiles. John, who hasn't quite found his acting feet yet, though he's in the process of getting there, obliges by being good looking enough to steal any girl's heart away.
But before the grand finale i.e. Widow Remarriage in capital letters; dissent raises its head in the form of Amitabh's brother Om Puri, brother-in-law Aman Verma and nephew Parmeet Sethi who spit fire at the proposed alliance. A widow in the family (Sarika in a thankless role) is brought out and given a couple of token lines about the woes of being a widow. In a minute everyone relents and all's right again.
While some scenes do touch the heart, like Rani's outburst when she realises what games are being played to make her fall for John, or Amitabh's late night plea to John on the streets of London, even to some extent Salman's brat-like demeanour, Baabul doesn't have the emotional appeal or the 'lump in the throat' effect of Ravi Chopra's earlier Baghban. And at 2 hours and 40 minutes, it is at least 15 minutes too long.
Amitabh Bachchan excels as the doting father and father-in-law with the somewhat naughty quirk of cheating when playing games with his son, but it isn't something he hasn't done before. Hema Malini looks lovely but there is too little of her. Salman is Salman, a rockstar, whatever he does.
It is left to Rani Mukerji to hold the film together, something she does effortlessly with her smiles and tears.
Outstanding: *****
Very Good: ****
Good: ***
Average: **
Poor: *
