Baghban (2003)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Ravi Chopra

Writers:

Shafiq Ansari (screenplay)
Satish Bhatnagar (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 October 2003 (India)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Can you depend on your family?

Plot:

A tale of a of a family where the parents (Amitabh and Hema) sacrifice everything to nurture their four children, only to be left uncared for when they grow old.

Plot Keywords:

Adopted Son | Orphan | Writing | Valentine's Day | Generation Conflict

Awards:

2 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan	...	Raj Malhotra
Hema Malini	...	Pooja Malhotra
Paresh Rawal	...	Hemant Patel
Lillete Dubey	...	Shanti Patel
Sharat Saxena	...	Ram Avtaar
Salman Khan	...	Alok Raj (Special Appearance)
Mahima Chaudhry	...	Arpita Raj (Special Appearance)
Aman Verma	...	Ajay Malhotra
Suman Ranganathan	...	Kiran Malhotra
Samir Soni	...	Sanjay Malhotra
Divya Dutta	...	Reena Malhotra
Saahil Chadha	...	Rohit Malhotra
Nasir Khan	...	Karan Malhotra
Rimi Sen	...	Payal Malhotra
Arzoo Govitrikar	...	Priya Malhotra

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hungary:14

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

B.R. Films

Trivia:

The T-shirt that Salman Khan is wearing was originally purchased for 'Ravi Chopra''s son Kapil.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Raj asks Pooja about her ice-cream and Pooja reveals she is having chocolate ice-cream. However, seconds later it shows she is having vanilla.

Movie Connections:

References Avtaar (1983)

Soundtrack:

Kuch To Hone Laga

A relevant movie for the times

Lately, Bollywood has churned out movies with tremendous show of skin and exhibitionism, but this movie is such a stark contrast and is one of the reasons that it works. In this movie they have dealt with the age-old issue of children not willing to take the responsibility of their parents when the parents are considered "useless" by their children. Although we have seen such movies in the past like Avtar and Amrit, but what is different about this movie is the way they have shown the romance of an old couple. I can't remember seeing such romance in any other Hindi movie, so it is refreshing to see that even an old couple can have youthful romance.

This is one of those movies that makes you think and analyze your relationship with your parents. As one's parents get older their habits get formed and many times members of the younger generation (myself included) get angry at them and I felt how important it is to overlook the immediate state of your parents, and instead to reflect on how they have toiled in bringing you up. Another question that arose in my mind after watching the movie was whether parents have children so that they have someone to take care of them or do they have children without any ulterior motive. After having discussions with my Mom (in relation to this movie) I realized that, yes, everyone does have expectations, but that's not the reason that they work so hard to build a child's future. In fact, as a child, we have expectations from our parents through our dependence on them, so why should we accuse them of wrongdoing when we have similar expectations. It is human to want to be loved, and that's the least we can do for our parents. Well, after reading this lengthy philosophical discussion you can see how thought-provoking this movie is. Let me get back to the movie. After a long time I have enjoyed watching Amitabh Bachchan, and Hema Malini's performance was so subtle and yet she gave a powerful performance. There is one scene in particular, where she tells Amitabh to have his medicine (right before they get separated) and one moment she has her eyes shut and the next moment her eyes are filled with tears. In this movie I didn't find much melodrama and the dialogues are hard-hitting and are to the point. Finally, the performance of Paresh Rawal, is, as usual, very good. I hope everyone watches this movie with their families.