By: Somesh Vasishth

When he is not robbing the banks, he plays 'Baghban' and steals your heart. A sexagenarian, Bachchan, with a dab of vintage beauty, Mrs Deol, that's what it take to concoct the perfect tear jerker of the year, Baghban.

It's a story of Raj Malhotra (Amitabh Bachchan), his wife Pooja (Hema Malini) and their four sons (Aman Verma, Samir Soni, Sahil Chadda, Nasir). Being a diligent man, Raj works hard his whole life to secure a better future for his loved ones.

All his hopes come crashing down when he realises that none of his son is willing to take responsibility of their aging parents. Instead, they come up with an arrangement where each son will take care of one parent for a period of six months.

Raj is skeptic but Puja fails to realise the foul play involved in it. Finally, the couple splits and soon their worst fear come to life when their children start ill-treating them.

Enter Alok (Salman Khan), the adopted son, who worship them next to God. In turn of events, the parents become rich and that is enough for the greedy offsprings to pile on them once again.

Baghban does give you a déjà vu at times but it's the vintage couple, which walks away with all the applause. Together they make you laugh, they make you swing and of course they make you cry, 'profusely'.

Director Ravi Chopra, banks heavily on the emotional quotient the film. Aadesh Shrivastava ably supports his cause with Bachchan's soulful baritone. Salman Khan and Mahima, who plays his love interest, make their presence felt in their given roles.

Aman Verma makes a valiant effort as Bachchan's son and stands out. Divya Dutta outdoes Suman Ranganathan in her portrayal of a daughter-in-law. What's Riya Sen doing here, your guess is as good as mine.

All in all, a feast for all Big B fans. I'd recommend that you take a pile of tissues with you when you see the film - it's a real tear jerker!