Baabul

Baabul

Crew:
Director: Ravi Chopra
Producer: B. R. Chopra
Screenplay: Suresh Nair
Music: Aadesh Shrivastava
Cinematography: Barun Mukherjee

CAST & Characters Played:
Amitabh Bachchan ... Balraj Kapoor
Hema Malini ... Shobhna Kapoor
Salman Khan ... Avinash Kapoor
Rani Mukerji ... Malvika Talwar/Kapoor (Milli)
John Abraham ... Rajat Verma
Om Puri ... Balwant Kapoor

Ravi Chopra's latest movie"Baabul",is the story of a man going against traditions to help his widowed daughter-in-law find a new life.Its really different from "Baghban" but its as touching as Baghban was..
Its wholesome package ..with a really entertaining first half and an emotionally driven second half....

STORY

Balraj [Amitabh Bachchan] is a rich businessman with progressive modern outlook towards life. For him, family, culture and values are of utmost importance. Shobhna [Hema Malini], his wife, is more than his better half.
Together, they dote on their only child Avinash [Salman Khan]. For Balraj, Avinash is more of a friend than just his son. After spending many years in the U.S., Avinash returns home to his parents. Their lives light up!

Avinash meets the pretty Millie [Rani Mukerji], a painter. They fall in love and get married. They are blessed with a lovely child named Ansh.

Rajat [John Abraham], a young musician and Millie's friend, has feelings for Millie, but never reveals it to her. He is now happy for Millie and Avi. He decides to settle in Europe, pursuing his musical career.Fate plays a cruel game and on Ansh's birthday, Avinash meets with a fatal accident. Life without Avinash is unbearable for Millie. Meanwhile, Balraj and Shobhna try to find the love of Avinash in Ansh.
Balraj cannot bear to see Millie's colorless life. He decides to find Rajat and asks him to marry Millie and help him bring the colors back into her life.
But Balwant [Om Puri], Balraj's elder brother, objects to Balraj's plans. Even Shobhna is not with Balraj this time.

An issue-based film has to be tackled with kid gloves, with utmost care, efficiency and sensitivity. And Ravi Chopra does just that! Although there are several emotional moments in the film, at least three sequences strike a chord…
Hema requesting Rani to wear colorful clothes, after Salman's demise.
Salman and Rani's son feeling the presence of his father by sitting in the closet.
Rani dancing with Salman's pullover amidst heavy rains.

And yes there are some Shortcomings to...

The pace drops in the second hour....
While the first half focuses on light moments, songs and romance, the emotional track in the post-interval portions unfolds at a lethargic pace....

MUSIC:
In fact, the film can easily do with a 15-minute trimming to spruce up the goings-on.Aadesh's music stresses on melody and the score is quite pleasant.
'Come On Come On Chalo Jashn Manaye' is peppy, while 'Baawri Piya Ki' is soft and soothing...while 'Bebasi'...rendered with feeling by Kunal Ganjawala...is melancholic...


Barun Mukherji's cinematography is appropriate....
The frames are vibrant with colors. Dialogues by Achala Nagar deserve special mention coz they are fantastic...!!

ACTING:
BAABUL rests on two actors mainly -- Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji -- and both emerge trumps...

Mr.Bachchan is in top form yet again and proves for the nth time that he's the 'Big Boss' as far as histrionics are concerned.He is simply superb in the climax! Rani takes her character to a new level altogether....

And Rani...after HUM TUM, VEER-ZAARA, BLACK, K.A.N.K. and now BAABUL,you can well imagine how impressive she is if one clubs her work in BAABUL with her earlier accomplishments....

Hema Malini looks gorgeous and acts her part with amazing grace.
Salman is natural and provides ample light moments. He's cute when courting Rani.
John is perfect, although the dashing guy is looking pale and tired at times.
Om Puri is loud, but that's the demand of the character.

BAABUL stars a host of characters and those who stand out in brief roles are Sarika (tremendous),Sharat Saxena(very good)and Smita Jaykar(competent).
Rajpal Yadav doesn't get much scope.
Aman Verma and Parmeet Sethi are forced characters and are wasted


On the whole,Although the movie seems to become a little heavy on sentimentality at times, the conclusion of the story more than compensates for such glitches.

BAABUL makes a statement in a really convincing manner....
The film rests on three aces -- emotions, performances and execution - which will definitely appeal to the family crowds. Even the young ‘Dhoom 2 Generation’ can find the movie eminently watchable.This movie will make u smile,cry,laugh and a MUST WATCH....

RATING: 8/10