MERE BAAP....

Film: Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Dir: Priyadarshan

Starring: Akshaye Khanna, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Genelia Desouza, Manoj Joshi

Date of release: 13/6/08

approx run time: 2hr 35 min

Rating: ***(3/5)



REVIEW

Paresh Rawal says that Priyadarshan doesnot go over board with comedy. Bhool Bhulaiya is one very good example and MBAP also falls in a similar genre. A masala film which has comedy, romance, drama. But it is a tough job to manage all in one single film. And probably thats where the problem lies.

The story stats off with two friends (Paresh Rawal and Om Puri) getting into trouble because the later is too desperate to find a bride for himself. Daddy Paresh ends up getting scolded by his beta Akshaye. In the meanwhile Shikha(Genelia) who had been ragged in her collge by senior Akshaye comes back and starts taking her revenge creating a lot of funny situations. Soon the two fall in love. There is one more twist Daddy Paresh finds his old love back who turns to be Sikha's music teacher. from here on the story takes the turn towards drama where Akshaye and Genelia try to bring the old lost lovers together, sometimes putting a lot at stake.

The first half is fun filled with a lot of funny situations but moulds into drama at the interval point and there on. But the point where the film goes off balance is when the marriage of daddy rawal is opposed by some distant family members and beta Akshaye's to be father in law. This is where the film loses its fizz and makes it too long an outing. The film is trying to pack in so much that some tracks remain half baked. It feels that some tracks are just being brushed upon without being given due importance.

Technically, the direction is all right, script could have been better, editing is slightly two paced sometimes trying to be too fast, you could some times feel a jerk as if you were watching a pirated cd and some portions were taken off. Music is nothing to brag about.

Performance wise, the film belongs to baap beta i.e. Paresh Rawal and Akshaye Khanna. Some scenes between the two are just fantastic. Genelia Desouza comes as a breath of fresh air and does more than justice to the role. The romantic track betwwen Akshaye and Genelia comes out as another winner. Genelia doesnot sound too comfortable with her Hindi though. Om Puri is ok, Manoj Joshi is good, Rajpal's role is inconsequential but he does a very good job out of it. Archna Puran Singh track stats of promisingly but is forgotten in the later reels and comes to a very tame filmy end when Om Puri decides to marry her. Nasseruddin Shah makes his presence felt but the track was not required.

What makes it win is the fresh main plot and good execution of the same. In all an all a decent film but had it been trimmed by atleast 15- 20 minutes especially post interval it would have been much better.