Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan & Paresh Rawal
Music: Illayaraja
Writer & Director: R Balki
Duration: 2 hrs, 24 mins.
First of all, hats off to the talented writer/director R Balki (Cheeni Kum was his directorial debut) for thinking and making a movie on such a unique concept of a rare disease called Progeria. Yes, that is the essence of the movie. Progeria – a very rare genetic disease/defect that causes accelerated aging of a person. There are hardly 8-9 cases of this in the entire world. Here in Paa, Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of a child named ‘Auro’ who is suffering with Progeria like syndrome. Though he’s just a 12-13 yr old kid mentally but physically his body growth is 5-6 times of his age i.e. like a 65-70 year old man.
He is brought up by his mother Vidya (Vidya Balan) who is a gynecologist, in Lucknow, also with the support of Vidya’s mom. Auro is a very creative and talented boy with a great sense of humour. On the eve of his school’s 50th anniversary, he gets awarded with the ‘Visionary of Modern India’ award for an internal school competition. This award is given to him by a very young and ‘cool’ Politician/MP Amol Arte (Abhishek Bachchan). This very incident also brings Auro into the limelight by the media. When Vidya sees her son receiving the award from Amol on the television, she is thunderstruck because of the fact that Auro is Amol’s son.
This is where the movie goes into a slight flashback mode all the way to Europe. Amol and Vidya are pursuing their higher education in an esteemed University there, one in gynecology and the other in Political Science respectively. They meet accidentally, become fast friends, very close friends and finally in a relationship. When it is known that Vidya is pregnant, Amol is not ready to accept the responsibility of a father at such an early age of his and he suggests Vidya to abort the child. He explains to her that both of them have their respective careers ahead and hence they cannot get married. Vidya needs to complete her gynecology and Amol has to become a politician and take his dad’s (Paresh Rawal) political party ahead. Amol wants to be a clean, non-corrupt politician who is out to prove the world that ‘Politics’ is not a bad word. He is a man with a mission and a modern vision. That’s why Vidya decides to leave him alone and comes back to her mother in Lucknow, where she decides that she’ll give birth to her child. Her mother supports her right throughout this period and Vidya also pursues her remaining studies simultaneously. The tough time which she goes through in bringing up her son Auro, makes her a really strong headed woman.
The fact that Auro is Amol’s son is not known to anybody except for Vidya alone. Not even Vidya’s mother knows that because Vidya doesn’t discloses Amol’s name to her mom. The movie slowly comes back to the present. At times, Auro keeps asking his grand mom whether his mom Vidya got married in the Indian traditional way or not, which he funnily terms as the seven round-round. Vidya’s mom insists to her that she discloses Auro’s father’s identity to her as well as to Auro. Auro and Amol start having some interaction through phone, internet and one day Auro requests Amol to take him to Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Residence) in New Delhi and Amol promises him the same. That however gets postponed due to Amol’s political commitments and Auro is upset with the same. On his 13th birthday, Vidya gifts Auro with her and Amol’s photograph thus telling Auro that MP Amol is his ‘Paa’ i.e. father. However, she suggests him not to let Amol know the same.
At a later date, when Amol takes Auro to New Delhi, they both have a great time there together. Now the story starts getting bit slow and emotional towards the latter half of the second half. Auro’s health starts deteriorating very fast as the doctor had already hinted that to Vidya previously. He’s admitted in the hospital and is in a very critical condition. It is then when Amol gets to know the entire truth when he sees Vidya sitting in the hospital beside Auro. The world around him is shattered when he realizes that Auro is his own son. Though he his very happy to know that, at the same time also repents for the mistake he had done and also apologizes to Vidya for that. Auro unites his parents and ensures that they both do the round-round (marriage thing) right in front of him in the hospital. He calls his mom as “Maa” and then Amol as “Paa...” the last word he speaks. Auro then dies that also brings us to the end of the movie at a very heartbreaking note because every one of us would be definitely feeling sad for him.
The dialogues in the movie are very good especially when Auro always calls his grand mom as ‘bum’ and his funny interactions with his class mates and Amol. Music by Illayaraja is remarkable. Paresh Rawal has perfromed his role very well. Abhishek has been emerging really strongly as an actor and his role of a young & modern politician is enacted by him superbly. Vidya’s role suited her very well and both Abhishek and Vidya make a really good pair. It is Big B’s one of the best career performances undoubtedly. He is exceptional as Auro – the new child sensation of the year. R Balki has again proved that he is a superb filmmaker.
Paa is a not only a very rare father-son son-father story but also shows the emotional bonding which every mother shares with her child. It is one of those few best movies, to have come out in the year 2009. Do go ahead and watch this movie, at least for Auro.
Rating: ****
Note: I would have rated this *** but its 1 * more only for Big B aka Auro.
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