‘Bbuddah…Hoga Tera Baap’ (Hindi)
Written & Directed by: Puri Jagannath
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Prakash Raj, Makarand Deshpande, Charmee Kaur
If there is an unabashed practitioner of the multi-ingredient masala method of making films it has to be Puri Jagannath. Therefore it comes as no surprise that when assembling a tribute to the aura of the original angry young man he comes up with ‘Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap’. Every moment that Bachchan is on screen, save a tender moment toward the end, is an opportunity to emphasise his virility and larger than life stature.
Every detail of the film is in service of the Big Bachchan identity and the era that cemented his stardom. The large lapels, silk shawls, floral patterns and boots are all back in full force.
Two popular numbers of the age, ‘Don’s ‘Paan Banaraswala’ and ‘Yaarana’s ‘Saara zamaana’, have been remixed and placed to trigger aural memories. These armaments, Puri assumes, are sufficient to buoy the story of a retired but still potent hitman named Viju (played by who else but Bachchan himself) returning to Mumbai – the city where he earned his stripes, learnt his lessons and lost his family.
We’ve even met most of the characters decades ago – an extremely religious single mother, a conscientious cop, callous criminals and fashionably adorned romantic interests. Prakashraj takes over villain duties in the absence of the formidable Ajit. With gangster haven regulars like Bob Christo and Mac Mohan retiring to the great beyond, Makarand Deshpande (also named Mac) and familiar faces from Puri’s Telugu ventures like ‘Pokiri’ fill in sundry gang member roles.
Sonu Sood, the only other person with sizeable screen time, is obviously cast as a throwback to the cops once played by Bachchan himself.
The film even establishes its notions of romance firmly in favor of the early eighties. It is the ‘dream girl’ Hema Malini who truly has the heart of the leading man in this film, not the oomph girl of the nineties – Raveena. If one bemoans the passing of the tried and tested tropes of the early 80s Hindi film, then ‘Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap’ is your own personal Easter.
But what of those of us who fell in love with Bachchan’s angry young man image for entirely different reasons? Puri Jagannadh’s film offers little for those of us who preferred the silent strength he embodied in Shakti. Now, suggestive background music clouds the reticently used baritone and designer sunglasses mask the smoldering anger in those eyes.
‘Bbuddha Hoga Tera Baap’ is a tribute to only a few of the affectations that made the Big B a star and is, therefore, a slight let down.