Bbuddah... hoga Terra Baap : A Bachchan Remix

I have heard people complaining about paid reviews being published on many portals. Always thought Raja Sen of Rediff.com wrote too many nice things about Shah Rukh Khan movies and too little good about all others including Bachchan. Even 3 Idiots was put down by him. So I expected him to be negative about Bachchan's latest venture. But instead Raja Sen went gaga with Bachchan mania. So I thought this must be a must watch and thus I went to watch with Big B expectations. And this is what I felt after watching the movie.

There is a character of an underworld [Mafia in his language] henchman played by Makrand Deshpande in the movie. He begins questioning the Bbuddah's place in the bar and ends up being his unabashed fan and a more than willing sidekick. Director Puri Jagannadh is exactly that; a Bachchan fan blinded by the opportunity to direct the legend for the first time. He ends up dishing out a remix of Bachchan songs, dialogues and movies. For me, a Bachchan fan since Amar Akbar Anthony, this works out to be just that, a Remix without a soul. Well, a little soul may be in the form of 'Haal e Dil' song. Wonderful song this is sung soulfully in the Bachchan baritone.

There hardly is anything we haven't seen or heard about the Bachchan here. He emotes, sings, fights, punches and spews punchlines with gusto. He elicits spontaneous applause for some of his dialogues like "Hum jahaan khade hote hain, line wahin se shuru ho jaata hai". But the punchlines are far and few in between. In 'Go Meera Go" song he does a remix of his legendary songs. May be I am old-fashioned and that is why I prefer the originals.

We are told Viju comes from Paris for one final act. But we can't be faulted if we tend to believe he came from Hyderabad. His dress sense and sun-glasses look inspired from old Telugu movies of Krishna. Not cool at all. If riding Harley Davidson and punching a bunch of boys is his idea of heroism, Puri Jagannadh doesn't know Bachchan. Give me 'Sarkar' part-3 any day.

I have more than a soft corner for the Divas of my school and college days. Raveena Tandon [Kamini] is one of those favorites. Yes, the 'Mast Mast' girl plays Momma to a grown up girl and looks like an elder sister and ravishing. There ends the positives. Her role is ill-conceived, ill-defined and ill-presented. She comes across more like a teenaged star-struck dumb fan than a married lady, once in love with the aging hit-man. Completely stupid. And her much touted item number was missing in the movie. May be "Chandigarh ki Star" doesn't sell in Kochi.

Hemamalini [Sita] has little to do in the movie. She looks beautiful, dignified and goes through the role with charm and ease. The famous Bachchan - Hema chemistry witnessed in movies from 'Naseeb' and and 'Satte pe Satta' to 'Baaghbaan' works even in 2011. They really make a fine pair.

Sonu Sood [Karan] looks stern and often too stiff. But his remote resemblance to Bachchan works in favor of the role he is given. The girls are eye-candy and are marginally better than Raveena. Prakash Raj [Kabir] is a fabulous actor. But he has very little to do here except look menacing, grimacing and foolish alternatively. So sad for Hindi movies that they somehow have no challenging roles for his talent. Rest of the cast including Makrand Deshpande go through motions.

In more than one ways, this movie is "Yamla Pagla Deewaana" with Bobby Deol missing. The same errant father and upright mother with a powerhouse of a son theme. An Iconic father parodying his own roles from past. Bachchan does a Dharmendra here. Unfortunately the Sunny factor is missing and that is why this movie suffers. Sonu Sood can be a lot of things but not Sunny Deol. Most importantly, there were so many gags and punchlines in YPD, it never slacked. BHTB starts slow, moves slow and punches slow. 

My verdict: Watch it if you are a diehard Bachchan-maniac like Puri Jagannadh. If not, don't blame Bachchan. The 'Bbudah' looks and acts cool. But the movie isn't so. My pre-teen daughter summed it all with, "Time-pass because Bachchan is great. But can't remember anything once inside the car".