Mere Baap Pehle Aap

A lazy weekend afternoon with soaring outside temperatures made me drive up to the movie theater for a desi flick. The choice of Priyarshan’s Mere Baap Pehle Aap over Universal Hero Kamal Hassan’s Dasavatharam was quick and easy, although I would like to see how Kamal Hassan plays 10 different characters including the US President George Bush! Anyway, the movie opened with a song and by the time the dancing stopped, I was already contemplating switching auditoriums. Lekin ummeed par duniya kayam hai … so I stayed on.

The movie picked up soon after, once Priyadarshan’s usual gang of Paresh Rawal and Akshay Khanna showed up as a stay-home-cook father and the mall-owner-dad-saving son. Om Puri was fantastic as a 50-year-old bachelor who ventured out to look for a bride but ended up at the police station every time. The movie turned out to be a light no-nonsense entertainer with good performances from all the seasoned actors. Genelia D’souza looked good and did justice to the character she played. It had been a while since I saw her on screen, the last time being five years ago in the Tamil movie Boys. It’s an ideal movie for a lazy weekend when you just wanna take-it-easy and not think about any worldly matters.

One important fact that the movie showcased was the way in which our society has curtailed, or rather killed, the freedom of old people to dream. Even after fulfilling their societal responsibilities of a parent/sibling/guardian they are not free to manifest their own feelings and emotions. A son’s understanding of his father’s feelings and going against the society in his support was the emotional high point of the movie.