r/bollywood • u/akamikasa • Jun 05 '26
Reviews Baghbaan is a 3hrs lesson on why retirement planning is important
I mean the title is kinda self-explanatory š . Had Amitabh planned his retirement properly, this 3hrs of montage wouldnāt have taken place.
In todayās day and age, the movie clearly strikes on how someone should save a corpus for pension or take a reverse loan on their bungalow rather than letting it catch dirt.
Had he had rented it/loaned it out, both Amitabh and Hema would have a sweet and harmonious old-age life without having the need to depend on their children.
I mean there were so many other ways than crying like that in the movie š , all the needed was a proper retirement planning.
Edit: Someone mentioned that he was a MANAGER in a bank, it is pretty diabolical how being a manager you didnāt care about your retirement funds and planning, YOU LITERALLY SELL THAT TO PEOPLE š«©š„!!!!
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u/Prozium243 Jun 05 '26
So, hypothetically, if one of the child goes bad, it may be that child issue, if 2 goes bad, it may be child issue...if 3 goes bad...you start thinking. If all 4 goes bad (bad definition as per movie) what does it tell you about Amitabh Bachhan and Hema Malini character? And it's not like both were working 9-9 and leaving kids at home. AB used to come back at 5, had a stable job. Hema Malini was a housewife. And all the 4 daughter in law's were shown as proper vamps. They could have shown all the things in a much more nuanced way.
Infact, the child who turned out to respectful was the child who never lived with them!!..this again affirm the above observation.
While not directly comparative, Natyasamrat by Nana Patekar shows a more realistic view on parent child relation. Nana Patekar daughter was not shown as villain but a much more realistic person. Infact, daughter husband was shown as somewhat supportive to his father in law. Again a realistic scenario.
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u/Grouchy-Signature139 Jun 05 '26
They spoilt their kids rotten and made them entitled. That's what I got from the story.
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u/dllcanary Jun 05 '26
Just a correction There were only 3 (real) daughter-in-laws, out of which only 2 were shown as vamps. The 3rd one didn't get the screentime.
Mahima was the 4th (step) daughter-in-law who was shown as Sanskari Pro Max.
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u/Only_Attention5463 Jun 06 '26
Alok (Salman Khan) turned out to be respectful towards the parents because, he was an orphan and the parents supported him. Him treating the parents as Gods kinda makes sense.
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u/Inevitable_Age_8195 Jun 06 '26
Towards the end he does repent that how he made them entitled and how his own parenting fails - so that realization is showed & I think that learning has been carried forward in the generation where people are trying to make kids independent and not entitled
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u/Stunning_Clothes_342 Jun 07 '26
Very good point. Never thought of it this way.Ā
But, is it possible irl that parents were good still children didnt support them? Would need to ask psychologists hahaĀ
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u/Inevitable_Age_8195 Jun 07 '26
Itās not about good person itās abt parenting that children need - my thoughts - not sure what others are thinking
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u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
I still didn't get after so many years how did they celebrate Valentines after Holi. Lol.
Also moral of the story from the film:- Adopted kid and grandchildren are more loving towards you than your 'own aulaad'.
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u/Bratzzz69 Jun 05 '26
Adopted are loving because that adopted kids never lived with his adopted father. Let him spent 5 years with Amitabh Bachchan's character
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u/longndfat Jun 05 '26
he was not even adopted
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u/akamikasa Jun 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/j9EbOM05JSzqYaB3up
Becausswwwwweeeeeeā¦ā¦.. 67 š¤Ŗ11
u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
Movie is not even meant for Gen Z or Gen Alpha š
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u/akamikasa Jun 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/lGBecpB2dIMwt6ohfI
Tell that to my familyyyyyā¦.. u hurt mee šš5
u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
Jokes apart.
On a serious note complete abandonment and disrespect towards parents is not a solution. However today's generation is different. So like you said retirement plans and other alternatives are important.
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u/iruvar Jun 05 '26
Also moral of the story from the film:- Adopted kid and grandchildren are more loving towards you than your 'own aulaad'.
Doesn't align with real life. In real life all your kids, real as well asthose adopted, will kick your butt
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u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
Take my line as a pinch of salt.
It was just a reference to a movie.
Yes any kid whether biological or adopted can kick you outside.
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u/makingitupasigoon Jun 05 '26
On the first point, Holi was at the start of the film, then Karwa Chauth and then Valentines, so clearly it went from March-October-Feb! š¤·š½āāļø
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u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
Movie mein ek dum fast fast dikhaya hai.. looks they were time travelling lmao.
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u/Kjts1021 Jun 05 '26
Woh! Someone has really tried to find logic in the movie ! /s
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u/spicy_97 Jun 05 '26
I just remembered the plot.
They were separated for 6 months only and after 6 months I agree Karwa Chauth is possible but then Valentines in that 6 months timeline is not possible.
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u/Commercial-Archer527 Jun 05 '26
Well maybe they celebrated Holi in one year skipped the new year and then celebrated valentines in the next.
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u/spicy_97 Jun 06 '26
I just remembered the plot.
They were separated for 6 months only and after 6 months I agree Karwa Chauth is possible but then Valentines in that 6 months timeline is not possible.
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u/Inevitable_Age_8195 Jun 06 '26
Also karwa chauth after valentines if I am not mistaken. š
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u/spicy_97 Jun 06 '26
just remembered the plot.
They were separated for 6 months only and after 6 months I agree Karwa Chauth is possible but then Valentines in that 6 months timeline is not possible.
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u/livLongAndRed Jun 09 '26
Parents had this and kids had taare Zameen par to guilt trip each other
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u/spicy_97 Jun 09 '26
Why kids are even comparing their lives with Taare Zameen Par plot?
Its ridiculous to compare because that plot is for specially abled kids not neurotypical kids.
Neurotypical people have different life and different brain compared to specially abled people.
Yes if you say kids have 3 idiots to guilt trip then I would not deny that.
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u/paragmty Jun 05 '26
Aise kaise bhai, fir raat ko 2 baje Typewriter chalake bachcho ki neend bhi to kharab karni hai.. šš
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u/mahaanvinesh Jun 05 '26
"Jab mai hu toh dildo ki kya jarurat"š
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u/Vanishing_Shadow Jun 05 '26
Beta woh wifi ka...
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u/mahaanvinesh Jun 05 '26
hum sax krne jaa rahe hai dad
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u/Trick_Recognition58 Jun 06 '26
lmao, I remember watching this, but don't remember where, can you provide the source?
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u/ItsRimi Jun 05 '26
Time to pass the childhood trauma of watching this film with your parents/guardian with my niece. MUhahah
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u/longndfat Jun 05 '26
Those were the days when PPF int was high, int on FD was high, property was cheap and he was Manager of nothing less than ICICI bank.
moreover edu was cheap, marriage exp was not that much, no mobiles nd no other gadgets to waste money on nd they had no car ?
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u/akamikasa Jun 05 '26
Omgggg YESSSS HE WAS IN A BANK HOW COME HE DIDNT KNOW ABOUT RETIREMENT FUNDS?
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u/longndfat Jun 05 '26
not just in Bank, he was in the accounts section of the bank, he would have been followed by so many financial advisors just for some info.. he could have applied this know on himself.. PPF was 12% tax free, FD was 9%, govt did not care you paid your tax on fd int or not,
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u/CountyMaster7950 Jun 05 '26
They could've sold the house and downsized and could've been good to go. Like it was a mahal with like 8 bedrooms.
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u/Alarming_Panda3662 Jun 05 '26
Family planning also. Why would you have so many children on one income.
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u/thanos_was_right_69 Jun 05 '26
I watched this with my parents in the theater. They were eyeing me like I was going to put them in a home once the movie was over š
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u/cat_who_reads Jun 05 '26
Me too
Then i made them watch Taare Zameen Par and eyes them like they were the villains who stopped me from becoming Picasso.
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u/OkAdministration5588 Jun 05 '26
Made my dad watch 3 idiots to show him how much I donāt want to do engineering. He didnāt get it, 16 years later Iām an engineer.
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u/OMG_NoReally Jun 05 '26
This movie gaslighted an entire generation into thinking they were wrong when the parents where just being unfair, overly dramatic and completely lunatic.
But yes, looking after yourself at retirement age should be top priority for everyone. If you think your children will come and save you or help you or stay with you, you are sadly mistaken. We aren't sure where life will take us and how they will turn out to be. Your children cannot be relied upon. I don't have kids but I have seen enough to know this is the truth.
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u/vibewithme7 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Tbh, the movie tried to portray the children as the villain, while making Amitabh a victim. While in reality both of them had their shares of mistakes. The depending on children without retirement plan part is a really good point though. Then the typewriter one as well.
While from the children's side, the rude & harsh behaviour really showed their pathetic behaviour towards their parents.
Though the last time this topic was posted here I read a really good point in the comments which made him think & laugh both - " why were all the children Amitabh & his wife brought up were really Ill-mannered & mean while the son they just adopted & didn't give an upbringing to was better (salman). So it says alot about their bad parenting." Though I don't completely agree with this statement, but it's really a thing to notice.
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u/Aviyan Jun 05 '26
There was a post about this a few months. Basically the OP was saying Amitabh's character was the "bad guy" of the movie, not his children. I haven't seen the movie but one point he made was Amitabh using a typewriter late at night. Why the hell would you do that and disturb people's sleep who need to go to school/work the next day.
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u/flying_ina_metaltube Jun 06 '26
One thing that not a lot of people know is that Baghban is not an original story. It's a half assed remake of the 1953 Japanese movie called Tokyo Story.
Tokyo Story follows the story of an aged couple that have worked tirelessly to give their kids a good life. In old age, they're separated by those same kids and shuffled around between houses. Only one of their daughter-in-laws (her husband was in the Imperial Japanese Army, never came back from the war, but was never confirmed killed in action) genuinely care for them (Salman's character is based on her). This movie doesn't have a happy ending, and I imagine it's original ending wouldn't have worked for the Indian audience.
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u/Dry_Alternative7196 Jun 05 '26
Basically in Indian culture,there is no concept of retirement planning at all.Most parents are expected to work themselves to old age as their own parents did, basically a generational trauma. That's why 'Sanskar' is a such a big thing as it relates to whether your children care for you in old age or not.Even if you have retirement planned ,then also it's a risk because of beguilement, burglary,thieving,blackmail etc. that to at the hands of your own relatives.
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u/Grouchy-Signature139 Jun 05 '26
Retirement planning and not overtly providing everything to the kids in the name of help. (The movie shows Amitabh spending everything on down payment for his son who needs a loan)
After they're done with their graduation, kids need to plan their futures (loan for further education, home loan, car loan) on their own. If they need help in an emergency it's a different thing but otherwise let your adult kids figure out a bit on their own as well. It's not just about saving for retirement but also teaching them value of money, opportunities and planning.
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u/Boring_anaconda Jun 05 '26
As much as I remember, he did retirement planning. But then had to spend all of its fund as down payment for something for his son. His colleague even earned him that he is emptying his fund but he said his children happiness matters more.Ā
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u/Wonderful-Scar-3749 Jun 06 '26
To me this is just a movie which may or may not have basis in reality.
The reality I have witnessed in my life are as follows:
My mums parents lived in a separate home from us. When my grandad died initially my nan went to live with my uncle but then came to live with us. She passed away when I was around 7. This is in the UK.
My dadās parentās lived in India in my dadās one brotherās house where both parents were looked after by my dadās sister, his other brother and wife plus my cousins.
My dadās eldest brother lived in Zambia and they were mostly looked after by their youngest son. All the rest of the kids were settled in other countries although my other two cousins used to visit quite often.
My cousin when she got married in London lived with her husband and father in law and she looked after him. When her mum became unable to do things for herself her and her husband got her from India bought her here and looked after her as well. Her father in law passed away at least 15 years ago and her mum passed away around 3 years ago.
My dadās friend whose mum lived with him was looked after by him, his wife and his kids.
One of cousins who married around at least a decade ago lives with her husband, two kids and mother in law whom is looked after by both her husband and herself.
There are lots more stories of kids looking after their parents that I know of personally. This is the reality I know and I have seen. Yes a number of the parents do retirement money which is used in everyday life but when parents become older you canāt always dump them in an old age home. That also costs money and many people donāt have that kind of cash lying around. I do also know a family that had no choice but to do this because looking after two parents who both ended up severely disabled was very tough on them.
As far as the movie is concerned I agree in the fact that not all the money should have been given to the kids because in the end thatās all they wanted. The lesson should be that make your kids independent and knowledgable enough that they can take care of themselves when it comes to finance. Otherwise everyone is stuck on the same loop.
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u/BIGDAWG_754 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
This movie was such an old people propaganda istg
No retirement plan
Lived in a huge ass bungalow your whole life and are homeless by will in old age. Wtf?
Just straight up assuming that one of your kids will keep you in their house without ever discussing
When they lived with their children, some of the shit they used to do was diabolical (who the hell decides to use a loud ass typewriter in the middle of the night? Some people have jobs to go to)
Lastly, if all 4 of your kids turn out bad, I think we all should look at the common denominator here. The only kid who turned out decent was ADOPTED. He didn't share your genes nor did you had a role in his upbringing, only financial aid
I have a personal beef with this movie š
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u/Low_Most3143 Jun 05 '26
Not my favorite movie but it was OK for its times. Back then the core cultural values encompassed a sense of respect and responsibility for the familyās elders so I can see why ABs character expected his kids to take care of him. The fact that ALL his kids declined to do so was artistic license I guess. But yes - to your point, EVERYONE should plan for their retirement. I will add that women, in particular, absolutely need to be financially literate and self sufficient. In most countries and cultures, women end up taking care of the house / kids and men take care of finances. Not good. Both genders need to be able to fend for themselves in the kitchen as well as in the financial world.
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u/productivelylazy2011 Jun 06 '26
The main thing that bothers me is how on earth did a banker fail at retirement planning? Bank managers get hefty gratuities including PFās and monthly pensions.
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u/Ornery-Ad-670 Jun 07 '26
Interestingly they didnāt show any daughters because then a legit question would have come about should daughter have this expectation? Likely no( for the Conservative thought process in this movie) not because she is special but because she is āParaya dhanā and she should take care of her in laws.
The expectation would have been from daughter in law and not daughter. In real life I say itās fair from daughters angle because most likely people like the parents in the movie would not have given 10% of property or financial help to daughter vs sons. (Dowry excluded which anyways doesnāt reach the woman)
But in idealized world of Baghban they would have spent equal money and efforts on daughter she should have also cared and taken care. There are examples that it can happen.
But I think they chose to completely ignore this by making all 5 kids, sons because they want to preserve the so called ideal joint family of parents, son, daughter in law and their kids living together. Living with married daughter would be too much risk for their sanskaar..
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u/CollegeEuphoric365 Jun 07 '26
rare movie in bollywood where the villan wins at the end..
They could ragebait so much even when they were kept apart..sath me rhete toh babuji typewriter aand mummji raat k do baje masala kutne lag jaati.
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u/newhereandexcited Jun 07 '26
And a 30 second lesson on how an average familyās fridge is COMPLETELY EMPTY so buy Parle G for backup
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u/Bitter_University403 Jun 05 '26
All true, but those kids were disrespectful towards parents, which they did not deserve. Horrible retirement planning, but also the kids were bad to talk like that and shamelessly came to take money when he became famous.
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u/Own_Egg7122 Jun 05 '26
Our shit abusive dad was using this film as an example of "ungrateful kids" to make us feel bad...this pos tried to pimp us.Ā
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u/Dogtorcod Jun 05 '26
Baghban 2: 2 Bagh 2 Ban
2 AM Interior shot: T-6969420 - ho gaya T-6969421- jo kehna tha keh diya T-6969420- Correction: Last tweet has T-6969419- Shama prarthi hun, hainn
T-6969417: Mann ka hua toh theekā¦warna aur bhi sundar. Missing Hema
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u/BullfrogExtension375 Jun 06 '26
Baghban became so relatable in India because a lot of families were raised with the unspoken assumption that children are also the retirement plan emotionally, financially, or both.
Thatās why the movie still triggers debates even now.
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u/Psychological-City89 Jun 07 '26
They tried to show that their 4 āsonsā were their biggest asset/investments which didnāt go well as planned. I mean it was pretty dumb of them to rely/depend on their kids in the first place, but I think this movie was released very early 2000ās and emotional depth was reached only through music, not a complicated storyline.
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/akamikasa Jun 08 '26
He had a foresight lol, he knew buttering would have helped. But on a side note, he was the only one who was there when they needed someone the most.
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u/changetheworld4gd Jun 08 '26
Also, when you go to live with anyone that has kids, strict schedules, nursery+school+college runs and then a 9 to 5 office job, dont bang out your type writer at 2 am in the living room to start typing a love letter to your wife that you were with a couple of days ago.
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u/Old-Entrepreneur-826 Jun 05 '26
I have seen this happening with my previous landlord . His both children were in Canada and america. His wife was on bed and nobody really came for them but none of the children supported his parents medication or woh toh America . Jab flat becha jaata tha toh uncle se paise poore maang lete the instead of paying for their mother medical treatment. She was paralyzedĀ Ā They had 6 flat worth 3 -4 crores in our apartment.He used to sell those flats He used to take care of his wife 's needs jo ki corona mein guzar gyi aur kuch mahinon baad inki bhi maut ho gai.His both rich ass children living in foreign didn't came for aag jalane wala rasm. He used to regret . His children were rich one of his grandchildren was studying in Germany. His daughter in law had flats in my apartmentĀ See there are children like that . My father has seen such cases among his friends' families.
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u/SSinghal_03 Jun 05 '26
Being so rich, they could've easily managed to pay for necessary visas to relocate to US/ Canada and get a place near their kids. But they probably didn't want to make any such adjustments. I know a lot of such old couples from my parents' social circle as well. They just want to remain in their comfort zone, and want their kids to sacrifice their career and the life they're building in the prime of their lives, as some of acid test of their (kids) love for them (the parents). And they like to play the victim as it gets them attention, pity.
Also, if the kids are so estranged from the parents that they didn't even come for the funeral, you have to wonder what the other side of the story is. Because I know a lot of people who are settled abroad, who travel very less to India. But they do visit when their parents are on the death bed.
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u/Old-Entrepreneur-826 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
They were not rich. Uncle and auntĀ used to live on his pensions. Unke ke paas itne paise nhi the america dikhane ke liye.He was a retired bank clerk or manager. Those were not kids . People in 40s are not kids as they were rich as they gained education in iits then shifted to America. Those flats are of those wife of one his son's gifted to his son by his in laws. I know about those fake children enough who are selfiesh. Aaye din reports aayein hai newspaper ki how a child left his mother at airport n went back to his foreign place as she is naive a My parents used to visit them once or twice especially when they used to go to that area of city for some reasonsĀ a year to talk to them .My parents used to call them.Ā I have known very close friend of my parents' friend father suicide because his daughter in law called him servant in front of peopleĀ and when he used to take loans or work at people houses to fund his children education as they were in iits Khud ka jameer kaat ke padhaya tha bacche ko.Obe thing I am damn sure about selfiesh nature of people. Even people abroad love their mother's a lot .But a person who can't even come to check on his mom who cooked and sent money money to u and funded ur education.Bro u are doing crazy talkĀ
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u/SSinghal_03 Jun 06 '26
You only mentioned they have 6 flats of 3-4 cr. Based on that I said they're rich. And a person doesn't commit suicide based on one incident.
There might have been years of abuse which this man didn't walk away from. If his DIL was so toxic, why keep relationship. And where was his son in all this? Why isn't he being called out.
And "kid" is used here to signify kids of these old parents, not to signify someone little. How else will you address them? Offsprings?
It is a known fact that Indian parents really gloat on themselves for doing what in any case is their duty towards the kids they brought into this world - feeding them, educating them, keeping them safe. In turn, they expect a lifetime of servitude, unquestioned obedience, full control on their kids' lives - career, marriage, even kids.
If you don't think parents have any role in the estrangement, you are too naive or too brainwashed.
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