I confess of being a die-hard Amitabh fan, right from the start and therefore was more excited than anybody else to see BUDDHA HOGA TERRA BAAP featuring my dear Vijay once again in the role of an Angry Young (Old) Man. And now after watching the film, I am even more eager to share my experience with all my friends here as an honest reviewer of a movie irrespective of its cast or producers.
But before I start, I would like to share an account of those “gloomy days between 1985 and 1995”, which was the last phase of Amitabh’s solo hero career in real terms. Those were the years which were the most difficult ones in the life of a true Amitabh fan as it was the time of disappointments, sadness and lack of exciting response to almost all Amitabh movies released in that particular period. It was the era when millions of fans like myself, used to get the tickets of the first show of a new Bachchan movie after a long process of struggle, recommendations and requests. The efforts for the tickets used to start from Monday itself with the opening of advance bookings and then it always looked like a long long wait till the Big Friday. On the D-day, I used to be in high spirits from the morning itself and those first moments of the starting of the movie, were always filled with sheer ecstasy, excitement and a feeling of thousand butterflies moving around in the stomach.
But in all those 10 years, after the first half an hour of almost every film, we all used to have desperation on our faces and disappointment in our hearts since we were always dead sure that “This film is also not going to work for our dear Amitabh”. The trend started with “Ganga Jamuna Saraswati” in the year 1988 and then there was a long line of flops such as “Shehenshah”, “Toofan”, “Jaadugar”, “Main Azaad Hun”, “Aaj Ka Arjun”, “Agneepath” (It also didn’t work at that time), “Hum”, “Ajooba” and many more becoming dead at the ticket window in just a few days of their releases. After each new flop there were clear indications of despair and unhappiness in our body language as another hope had met an unfavorable response at the box office. But soon we all used to start waiting for the next venture of our dear hero again with the same spirits and hope. Then somehow around the new millennium it all became quite silent and our angry young man went out of sight.
Now the reason for sharing my experience of those dark 10 years here is that after a gap of almost two decades, today I felt exactly the same while watching BBuddha Hoga Terra Baap. I bought the ticket of the film with the same old enthusiasm of watching a new Bachchan release, woke up on the Friday morning with the same butterflies in the stomach and went to the theater in the same high spirits like jumping in the air as a true Vijay fan. But exactly after 30 minutes into the movie I again had the same decades old feeling that this also is not going to work and is not capable of becoming a Big Hit at the box office in any case. It was really nostalgic to feel that but at the same time was also painful for a Amitabh fan to know that his favourite star’s film is frankly not as great as expected and is actually quite below the mark.
So as a true fan of His, I will not go on praising the film un-necessary by just writing great lines spun around the on-screen magnetic persona of the one & only 69 years old Icon of Indian Cinema.
Yes, the magic is there, the charisma is still visible, his first appearance on the screen still gives you goose bumps all over the body and his dialogues in that world famous baritone voice still remain impeccable and incomparable even after almost 5 long decades of his colourful film career. But where is the story, where is the script, where are the clap worthy dialogues, where is the emotion, where is the comedy and where is that VIJAY which was publicized all over in the print and T.V. media before the release of the film?
If you are a fan of THE MAN then its fine but the director Puri Jagannadh just makes his film remaining a fan and never gives you any glimpses of an intelligent film-maker throughout the film. He just keeps working with a larger than life character on the screen with everyone else moving around him as puppets. Neither there are lines which can make you go wild, nor the comedy is such which reminds you of all those Live comic scenes in Bachchan’s famous movies shot in sync sound. In short, the film is like a Tribute given to the actor by his avid fan who by chance happens to be a film-maker too.
The whole project has a South stamp all over it, having fast edit cuts and inter-changing scenes with an abrupt kind of sequence. I fact I was highly disappointed with the very first scene of the film introducing Amitabh. The confrontation between him and a police officer at the airport gave the clear indications that the film is not going to be as expected. As it progresses one can easily notice that the characters are just behaving in a silly manner in the awe of Amitabh’s powerful presence, which doesn’t seem to be convincing at all. Especially the sub-plot of Raveena and her daughter’s relation with Bachchan which visibly looks deliberately added for an extra spice in the storyline and nothing else. May be Raveena was added later on at a friendly request but sadly she is completely wasted. In the opposition department, the expressions on the face of villains keep hanging between terror and comedy. As a result they all fall flat including the well known Prakash Raj.
In the supporting cast, Hema Mailini is cool and elegant as ever and Sonal Chauhan is only there to look pretty. Charmee Kaur is energetic and Sonu Sood puts all his efforts to give an impressive performance and he even stands tall in front of Big B. Prakash Raj is just ok but Makrand Deshpande feels like enjoying his small appearance with the Man himself.
Technically the film is perfect with some great cinematography and brilliant action. Vishal Shekhar may sound good in the promos, but while watching the film, I was not very much impressed with the songs. It was really shocking to see that the title song sung by Amitabh himself in the Accapela form, wasted in the opening credits with no excitement and visuals to highlight the effort. Even the medley of all Bachchan super hit songs of the past was not anything great.
So whats there in BHTB to watch?
Its Amitabh, Amitabh & Amitabh alone. If you love the man and his enigma on the screen then you must watch it without expecting anything else from the movie. Just watch the 69 years old Angry Young Man, walking, loving, kicking, whistling and dancing on the screen as he doesn’t really know of his own age. The body language, the smile, the laughter, the anger and him riding a Harley, really surprises you as we all have our grandfathers in our homes of that age only.
Go for it, if you want to see probably the Last larger than life Hero on the screen of Indian Cinema still the same at 69. Because I don’t think that anybody of the current era would be able to carry his old age with such grace and elegance as the one and only AMITABH BACHCHAN.
Go for it, if you want to see why there used to be Real Temples of Stars in our country in the past where the fans used to worship their Hero’s like GODS.
Truly speaking, as a film, BHTB has not got much but what it has got is the BAAP OF ENTERTAINMENT, who deserves to be saluted with respect and love for such an effort made at this age.
So, Go for it, just to experience the Man and his Power on the screen because I am absolutely sure that there will be no Amitabh Bachchan ever again in our Hindi Film Industry, since the Man up above has simply lost the dye of making such phenomenon.
But as an honest reviewer I would like to end with the statement that “Its print ads and visual promos were much better and interesting than the movie itself….., but the BAAP is still there.”
Rating : 2 / 5
