All Baabul Reviews- HERE ONLY!! - Page 2

Hey Baabul is gonna be great👏...Big B n Rani are getting standing applause for their performances👏...n what less do u expect from te Big Boss and Reigning Queen of Bollywood???I am going to see it today...llol😆...got the tickets... 😳 😳 😳

Big B, Rani excel in Baabul

Sudarshana Dwivedi, Sukanya Verma | December 08, 2006 13:12 IST

Sukanya Verma: So what did you think?



Sudarshana Dwivedi: It was nice, clean, wholesome entertainment, which is a rarity these days. Maybe a bit too sweet to suit today's younger Dhoom-loving generation?

SV: Yeah, there are times when the sweetness level tends to get somewhat overbearing. Even so, the emotional content did get to me post-interval. I must have cried thrice at least. I saw you reaching out for a pack of tissues too. Hee!

SD: Shut up! It's not as hard-hitting as (Ravi Chopra's previous offering) Baghban, but it does have its good moments.

SV: It definitely has. But unlike what Baabul insists on us believing, I, not once, felt Amitabh Bachchan's character is being some kind of a messiah. He was simply doing the right thing. Isn't that how one ought to be?

SD: The subject is a bit dated to go well with city audiences as the lot of widows is not as pathetic as say the time when Raj Kapoor was making Prem Rog. But I am glad Baabul refrains from the tear jerking drama associated with the rituals of widowhood.

SV: To an extent, yes. But I feel Baabul could have delved deeper into the layers of the subject matter and less on the songs. Also, it didn't really allow me to connect with Rani Mukerji. Oddly it was easier to identify with Amitabh Bachchan's dilemma.

SD: A more subtle approach highlighting the emotional and physical deprivation of a widow would have explored the deeper side of the problem. As for songs, the qawaali had no place in the movie. It only disturbs the general mood.

SV: I just can't get over the clothes the actors wore in that number. Magenta sherwani for AB? Red, green, bronze sari for Rani? Egad! Rani looked great in her now on-now off glasses and Sabyasachi Mukherjee's oddball designs. I can't imagine any one carrying it off like she did.

SD: Agreed! That's why her lack of colour post-interval hits you hard. Actually, being widowed in India is a much greater trauma especially if one is a Hindu widow. It means a loss of partner anywhere. But here, it translates in a total loss of life -- its colours, vibration and social interaction. This is brought out beautifully in Baabul. Especially gut-wrenching is Rani crying her heart out in the rain-drenched sequence that makes Amitabh alive to her needs and desires.

SV: That was one of my favourite scenes in the film. Followed by Bachchan's heart-to-heart conversation with his dead son looking at the stars in the sky.

SD: The chemistry between Amitabh and Salman was excellent throughout. In fact, the relationship between AB and Hema Malini was not as spontaneous in Baabul as it was in Baghban.



SV: You think so? I thought they looked perfectly wonderful this time as well. Some of the dialogues were cheesy. But they seemed made-for-each-other as usual. Even the Salman and Rani coffee versus tea romance was cutely done. The humour was endearing. I wish I could say the same about John Abraham. He stands out in Baabul for all the wrong reasons. He looked so much in awe. His body language was unbelievably taut. And did you notice how the only two scenes between Salman and him went? They were badly written, badly executed and badly acted.

SD: You are being too harsh.

SV: Oh well, let's stick to Rani. Did you empathise with her Mili?

SD: She is fabulous. But Mili is not only a widow; she is a mother too. The ordeal of a woman about to marry, despite being a mother, her fears about her son's acceptance of her changed state, what it might do to his psyche once he grows up is totally missing.

SV: Except for hugging him tightly, I didn't see any motherly love flow in the kid's direction. Funnily, even in that just one the-importance-of-drinking-milk scene, Salman and the little boy showed ten times more father-son chemistry.

SD: You are right. Moreover, Rani is convinced too easily. Her total lack of care for mom-in-law's opposition to the whole plan doesn't gel well with her earlier love and closeness to her.

Anyway, thank God for sparing us the melodrama of John moving in with Rani's in-laws as a surrogate son. So that everybody could live happily ever after. I feared it might end that way. Mercifully, the end was not dragged at all. It was short and swift.



SV: Yeah, totally unexpected that was! I overheard one of the production guys saying that Baabul was originally five-and-a-half hours long. That's why some of the scenes look so lengthy and some so abrupt. I didn't mind the relatively low on melodrama climax. There was enough to go with earlier on, especially from Om Puri's (playing Big B's supremely orthodox elder brother) side.

Rani and Amitabh are good together throughout but their bonding leading to the final act does not show. It's more of Amitabh doing a noble act for his young daughter-in-law than his doing it because he feels fatherly towards her.

SV: Have you noticed how a filmmaker will never show a woman wanting to get remarried on her own accord? There is always a third party involved. Plus, there will usually be a child in the picture, so the need of a father can be further established. Never can a woman marry for the sake of marrying.

SD: Yeah, because Indian society still likes to believe that a woman has no physical needs of her own. And she is too scared to fall from the high pedestal on which she is placed for being chaste, post-widowhood.

SV: Hmmm. That's food for thought. One thing they establish is a genuinely concerned and unconditionally loving father (Amitabh Bachchan) wanting to fulfill his late son's (Salman Khan) incompletely uttered wish -- to see his wife Mili (Rani Mukerji) married to her best friend, Rajat (John Abraham).

What I appreciated is it's not just the idea of doing the right thing that prompts him to go out of his way. He not only observes her misery but is sensitive enough to recognise it. A combination of empathy, distress and guilt is visible on his face on seeing Mili dance with the sweater, knitted for her husband Avinash, and eventually breaking down to uncontrollable tears.

SD: Another plus is the in-laws have been depicted as understanding, warm and humane consistently. It is a welcome and heartening departure from their usual depiction as devils incarnate.

SV: Bottomline, Baabul works for me, primarily because of AB and Rani -- his resilience and her restraint. The film, undoubtedly, belongs to them.

SD: Don't forget Salman and (director) Ravi Chopra. They did a good job! I, for one, loved the whole experience. And I am sure, so will the masses.

Sudarshana Dwivedi is a senior journalist and writer. Rediff.com senior contributor Sukanya Verma is her daughter.

Rediff Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/dec/08baabul.htm

Movie Review

Baabul - Buddy…Time to take a break

Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz [Friday, December 08, 2006>



Tears for fears. Anyone… I am a sucker for sob stories and love to let the stream of emotions glide through the eyes. But while watching 'Babul' each time that urge welled up, the effect was diluted by the simplistic superficiality of the treatment meted out to a noble subject. The end result of Ravi Chopra's efforts to highlight widow remarriage is an exercise in blatant surrogate advertising (Audi, Taj Mahal tea, Nerolac Paints, Kotak Insurance etc etc) and tons of sermonizing. If it wouldn't have been for the caramel-popcorn-romance generated by Salman Khan, 'Babul' may well have been a disaster. A few goose-pimple-evoking songs are charming reasons to stay back too.

Avi (Salman Khan), the US returned dude shares a 'buddy' relationship with rich dad Balraj Kapoor (Amitabh Bachchan). Mum (Hema Malini) shakes a leg or two in a resplendent red sari while the father-son duo, go 'Come on Come on' to some hip-shaking bhangra beats. Enter kadwa karela Mili (Rani Mukherjee), Miss-Rightious-middle-class-girl who falls for Avi's golf-tomfoolery as they pledge 'Vaada Raha' in a scenic-slow-motion-reverie. A quick silver marriage and a chashmish four year old Ansh later Avi meets up with his untimely fate. Time for the haggard and woe begotten Rajath (John Abraham) to soothe 'good' friend' Mili's troubled life.

The story doesn't surprise you at any point of time. Endless procrastination to let the star value of Salman get maximum mileage results in a delayed start of the actual story in the beginning of the second half. Cinematic liberty is fine. But blatant compromises make it a shaky ride (Too much and too many advertising products sharing space with the flow of the film). The confessions of love and forgiveness happen in Harry Potter mansions with eerie candles burning freezingly. If Dad Kapoor had to think up a match for widowed Mili, why only the rockstar Rajath who seemed to be having a good time anyway with a bevy of scantily clad starlets belting out songs of passion.



The reason why Sooraj Barjatya's 'Vivah' strikes a chord is due to innate conviction of the director in the aesthetics of simplicity, piousness and family values. But in 'Babul' in spite of the family theme, the director clearly wants to woo the younger audience by displaying ample skin show by showcasing shimmering blonde babes at several occasions. To his credit, I would also like to state that the physical intimacy between Salman and Rani in the delightfully earthy song 'Bawri Piya' has been presented exceptionally well. The couple seems to be made for each other and their union is a forgone conclusion.

Music by Aadesh Shrivastava is one of the highlights of 'Babul'. Semi classical ode to romance 'Bawri Piya', 'Har Manzar' and 'Bebasi Dard Ka Alam' (Breathtakingly choreographed and John looking divine) are wonderful numbers. 'Kehta Hai Babul' (sung and composed by Amitabh Bachchan) is a fantastic song too. But at the same time, average songs like 'Vaada Raha' and 'Gaa Re Mann' slow down the proceedings.

Amongst the actors, it is Salman Khan who deserves all the accolades. This superstar- actor is aging beautifully. He has worn the best clothes, humour is seldom over the top, looks relaxed and the loving manner in which he romances Rani makes young girls go weak in their knees. Effortlessly. The cosy interactions with his four year old son are really cute. No complaints about his acting either.



Rani Mukherjee is dependable as usual to carry off the complex role of a woman who is struck by the onslaught of ravages of life. But this is not Rani at her best. Moreover, she desperately needs a makeover and a better dress designer. That full-sleeves multi coloured blouse and garish sari in 'Gaa Re Mann' number is grotesque to say the least. John Abraham looks lost. And dude, don't you think a shave before your own marriage makes better sense (especially when you are looking unkempt).

'Babul' is touted to be an Amitabh Bachchan film. He doesn't disappoint his fans either although he is unable to recreate the 'Baaghbaan' effect. His interactions with the regressive elder bro Om Puri in the later part of the film are half baked. Hema Malini is wasted. She hardly has any dialogues in the film. Alright, she looks a million bucks but she never gets a chance to really take centre stage. Her bonding with Salman and Amitabh Bachchan kindles warmth and immaculate dressing sense gives her an edge over the much younger daughter Esha. Om Puri is loud while Sarika is a mute spectator. Literally.

Director Ravi Chopra undoubtedly has the potential of making good family films. 'Baaghbaan' was a step in the forward direction but one can't say the same about 'Babul'. Somehow, the issue of widow remarriage has been tackled on-the-surface while external razz matazs has been given more importance. Sluggish pace of the film doesn't help at all. It can easily be trimmed by at least twenty minutes. The relationships between Salman-Rani and Salman-Bachchan have been handled very well. And that alone is a reason for watching this film. Don't go expecting too much, and you may relish a few portions. Especially if you are a Salman fan!

Babul: Worth-a-few-tears

Star Rating: **1/2

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/review/8651.html

Baabul is slow but steady

BY A STAFF REPORTER | Friday, December 08, 2006 10:16:40 IST

As the dispute between the distributors and multiplex owners ends, Baabul attracts good crowd

Today at theatres across the city, the Bollywood movie Baabul has been released. This movie, directed by Ravi Chopra has some of the biggest starts in the industry, starting Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee, John Abrahim and Om Puri.

The story of this blockbuster is of a progressive father in law, trying his best to get his widowed daughter-in-law to marry. After enquiring at various movie theatres, it was found that the public was keen to see the movie. The ticket bookings started since Tuesday and most of the shows are house-full.

At Maratha Mandir, tickets for almost all the shows for a week have been sold in advance. "All the shows on Sunday are full," said Pravin Rane, the manager of Maratha Mandir. Rane added that the movie is sure to be a hit with the way tickets are selling.

"We opened the bookings on this Monday and tickets are selling fast," said Rane.

At Multiplexes, the sale of tickets is somewhat different. "We began the ticket sale on Wednesday and so the opening is not too big. There was an issue of the movie with the multiplexes owners. This issue was resolved and it was only on Tuesday that all the multiplexes got the confirmation of the movie releasing in their theatres," said Devang Sampat, the General Manager of Cinemax, adding that on Wednesday night they held a premier of the movie. "We have planned 10 shows of Baabul in the Versova Cinemax, while in the rest, there are 8 shows," said Sampat.

At Fun Republic too, the booking started on Wednesday morning. "The ticket sales seem to be doing well. We are showing Baabul on two screens," said Bhumika Tiwari, the General Manager of Fun Republic.

The situation is same at Fame Adlabs and Metro Adlabs as well. A spokesperson of Adlabs refusing to reveal his identity said that the ticket sales of Baabul are not that great, because of the issue between the multiplexes owners and the movie. Now since the issue has been resolved, the sale of tickets is picking pace.

Fans go hysterical over Salman, John

December 08, 2006 14:24 IST

Hysterical fans greeted Salman Khan and John Abraham, when they arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the world premiere of Baabul, at the second Global Indian Film Awards.

More than 1,500 Malaysians, mostly women, stood patiently for more than three hours on December 7 waiting for the stars at the TGV cineplex, adjoining the Petronas Twin Towers, two of the world's tallest buildings.

While some of the people had passes for the film, most of them had come just to see the stars.

Salman, wearing black trousers and a black shirt, waved to the crowd, signed his name on a billboard outside the cineplex and walked inside.

John Abraham walked towards the crowd and shook hands with some fans, sending them into throes of excitement. His girlfriend Bipasha Basu, dressed in a beige gown with a plunging neckline, accompanied him.

A few older fans, mostly Indians, cheered when yesteryear star Jeetendra, wearing a long leather jacket, walked to the cineplex.

Former actress Helen, wearing a peach coloured sari, was also greeted enthusiastically by the older fans. The other guests included Arbaaz Khan, Rahul Roy, Hema Malini and Esha Deol.

http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2006/dec/08fans.htm

Baabul : Movie Review

08th Dec 2006 23.00 IST
By Aparajita Ghosh

Even a regressive subject can have its appeal if presented in the right way. Ravi Chopra does just that in his latest movie Babul , which is the story of a man going against traditions to help his widowed daughter-in-law find a new life.

The film is a wholesome package with an entertaining first half and an emotionally moving second half. Thankfully, the movie, for its most part, steers clear of soppy melodrama without compromising the emotive quotient. And the high point is its climax, which is swift and to the point.

'Baabul' is based on a very pertinent theme. A woman emotionally torn apart after the death of her loving husband is shown the hope of a new life by her father-in-law. The movie questions the traditions following which people turn their backs to life. In that sense, 'Baabul' is a pro-life film.

Amitabh Bachchan plays Balraj, a rich businessman, a loving husband and a friendly father. He, his wife Shobhna ( Hema Malini ) and their son Avinash ( Salman Khan ) make a picture perfect family.

Avinash falls in love with Mili ( Rani Mukherjee ), a painter. The two get married and are blessed with a son named Ansh.

Tragedy strikes when Avinash is killed in an accident. Mili is left devastated and utterly alone. While Balraj and Shobhna find a little solace in their grandchild, the pain of losing Avinash is too strong for Mili to bear.

Seeing her in pain, Balraj decides to bring colours back into her life. He approaches Mili's friend Rajat ( John Abraham ) who has always loved her but never expressed his feelings. A musician settled in Europe, Rajat is willing to marry Mili.

But this decision of Balraj meets with a strong opposition from his own from the family. His wife doesn't approve of this decision. And the stiffest resistance comes from Balraj's elder brother Balwant ( Om Puri ), who holds age-old traditions above everything else.

Will Balraj be able to get Mili remarried? The movie's conclusion will certainly leave you with moist eyes.

'Baabul' rests on the strong and dependable shoulders of acting giants like Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee. And none of the two disappoint. Mr. Bachchan is simply superlative in his finely nuanced performance. He makes it so easy for the viewers to empathize with the dilemma of his character. He is particularly compelling in the sequence when he talks to his dead son while gazing at the stars in the night sky.

Rani Mukherjee is deft at expressing emotions. Like a chameleon she transforms the image of a vivacious and happy woman in the first half to the mourning and lovelorn widow in the latter reels. Particularly heart wrenching is the scene in which she dances with Salman's pullover in the rain before crying out uncontrollable tears.

Hema Malini has relatively lesser footage in the film but she cuts a perfect image of grace and tenderness. Salman Khan exudes natural warmth whenever he comes into a scene. On the other hand, John Abraham is ill at ease for most of his part. His two scenes with Salman are poorly enacted. Om Puri is emphatic but over-the-top at times.

Ravi Chopra deserves credit for making a film that effectually tugs at your heart. He brings a notable contrast in the two halves of the film. The first half is funny and the second is sombre. The costumes and sets are colourful in the first half. But they turn pale in the second. Even the cinematography has been used to the desired effect.

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' will definitely appeal to the family crowds. Even the young 'Dhoom generation' can find the movie eminently watchable.

Recommended.

http://apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20061208-4.html

I am sooo watching it tomorrow!!!!!!

i am going tomorrow!!!! i am sure it will rock!!!!!

I saw Babul today, I though film was good it was billant but worth watching. There are alot asian family out there where they show daughter as daughter inlaw and inlaw as inlaw. Bahul concept was good because there saw father who love son alot and after he had die what happend to the famliy. How the daughter inlaw went though depression. How the father inlaw couldn't see his daughter suffer any more, it wasn't that she was burn on him but if he had daughter he wouldn't like her suffer like that. So the father inlaw descide bring joy back in the daughter eyes. He took her as his daughter, he got long lost firend who love her trulu but wasn't able tell her because she love someone else at time and got married to him. The hole of the family was agenst including the mother inlaw accept the father he just wanted see her happy. This film teach alot about life, and I wanted ask all view who go see this one question? How many father law do see out there who take there daugther inlaw as daughter? The answere do tht question nt many proable about 5% of the puplution, andwhy is this because what tradition say that daughter who married once and who become widow at young age should say unhappy all her life do you think that fare, ask that question do yourself after watching that movie? And how many daughter truly take the inlaw as her own parents? again about 5% because there to busy b**ching about there inlaw. In this film it shows how daughter after becoming widow still saying with her inlaw and supporting them. When she could easliy take child and gone to her parent house. Why is this world so selfish I ask myself sometime and why do alway think of yourself and not other? After watching this film, it really made me think. I am single at the moment but prayer I get inlaws like Amitabh Bachchan he was excellent father inlaw.


Apart that the chemistry between Rani and Amitabh was execellent thought the who film. I also love the Amitabh and Salman it was nice chemistry between them 2 too.

I would suggest you go with your parents and inlaw watch the film because it is slow film so kids can get bored in it.....It emotional film.

Review: Baabul

Indu Mirani
Friday, December 08, 2006 23:59 IST



Our films...

Baabul
Director: Ravi Chopra
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, John Abraham
Rating: **

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: *

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1068264

leena great review 👏 I can't wait to watch the movie. I love family movies, and the story it has im really excited.