Movie Review:Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Movie Review:Mere Baap Pehle Aap
Rating :2.25/5
Banner :Shemaroo Entertainment
Cast :Akshaye Khanna, Naseruddin Shah, Shobhana, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Genelia Dsouza, Archana Puran Singh and others
Cinematography: Piyush Shah
Background Music: Ranjit Barot
Music: Vidyasagar & Tauseef Akhtar
Producer: Raman Maroo, Ketan Maroo, Mansi Maroo
Director: Priyadarshan
Released Date: June 13, 2008

Story:
A comic tale gone stale, the story is about the timid and kind hearted man Janardhan Rane (Paresh Rawal) who has spent all his life bringing up his two kids Chirag (Manoj Joshi) and Gaurav (Akshaye Khanna). Both sons grow up to be equally responsible but then it is Gaurav who is the more dynamic and decisive when it comes to the affairs of the home. So much so that he treats Janardhan like his son and takes the required liberties. Things take a turn with the arrival of Madhav (Om Puri) who happens to be a close friend of Janardhan and his sole aim in life is to get married. Madhav's influence falls on Janardhan and the duo's efforts to rope in a girl for Madhav always turns out to be a disaster with Gaurav coming to the rescue and taking the heat. However, things change in Gaurav's life also when he starts getting prank calls from a girl who happens to be Shikha (Genelia), his old college friend. Shikha is living with her guardian Anuradha (Shobhana) who is very protective about her. Soon Gaurav and Shikha meet and in no time even Janardhan and Anuradha meet only to discover that she happens to be the lost love of Janardhan. This sparks an idea in Gaurav's mind and he sets off on a mission to ensure that Janardhan and Anuradha get back in life. Is he successful in his mission? What happens to Madhav and his dreams? All this forms the rest of the story.

Presentation:
The director has come up with an interesting subject and his presentation was good but then the film spilled spoilt beans due to the narration which got lengthy. Even the music was not upto the mark barring one tune and editing was totally missing during the second half. Camera needs a pat on the back and so do the dialogues for bringing out few chuckles. The script was alright and so was the screenplay but then there were few loose ends which needed to be trimmed. Akshaye Khanna has eased into the role with smoothness and he has the ability to get into the skin of the character like this. Paresh Rawal was equally good with his expertise in acting and he was the perfect choice for the role. Om Puri was energetic and has done a fantastic job while Naseeruddin Shah was royal. Shobhana was a powerhouse of talent but then her role has been limited which did not show her true potential, Rajpal Yadav was wasted. Genelia has shown enough energy in her role and has shared a good chemistry with Akshaye. She has a lot of potential. The others were just about okay and did their bits mechanically.

Conclusion:
The film which was meant to be a total comedy entertainer has changed tracks in the second half and gave it a more serious and sentimental touch which kind of applied brakes on the momentum. The first half was hilarious with its moments but the second half lost out with some unnecessary dragging and scenes. The film looks good by parts and is enjoyable but then overall effect is not that intense due to the lengthy second half. The concept of son trying to get his father married could have been presented more strongly but the writer failed in his duty. The film might make it to the success mark if the makers look at some serious editing on the second half else, the movie will just be another passing phase.

Verdict : A passable entertainer, good in parts!!!