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Bollywood's daddy issues
Our industry hasn't quite had a father fixation -- most of our melodrama is born out of the last syllable of the word, the other parent -- but increasingly a lot of Hindi cinema has been about the Dad.
Here's a look at films with daddy issues, right in their title:
Well Done Abba
This forthcoming Shyam Benegal film stars Boman Irani in the titular role of a driver trying to find a groom for his daughter, played by Minishha Lamba.
Irani takes a month's leave but remains away for three months, and the film features him explaining himself to his employer.
Mere Baap Pehle Aap
This Priyadarshan film sees Paresh Rawal as a widower father with two sons, Manoj Joshi and Akshaye Khanna.
Om Puri stars as Rawal's rascally friend who perpetually wants to get married and keeps getting Rawal in trouble -- so much so that his sons are forced to lock him up from time to time.
Daddy
Mahesh Bhatt's finely nuanced film featured Anupam Kher in the title role as an alcoholic father, a washed up protagonist trying hard to discover a genuine human connection with his young daughter.
Bhatt's own daughter Pooja made a strong acting debut with this film.
Papa Kehte Hain
Taking its name from the hit Qayamat Se Qayamat Song, this film stars Anupam Kher as a father with an obsessively controlling relationship with his daughter, played by Mayuri Kango.
Masoom child-star Jugal Hansraj made an ill-fated debut as a leading man with this Mahesh Bhatt disappointment.
Pitaah
This Mahesh Manjrekar drama features two different kinds of fathers.
Om Puri features as a beastly zamindar with sons running rampant across the district, while Sanjay Dutt is a father who justs wants to see justice for his young daughter who has been raped by Puri's sons.
A dated conflict, yes, but the actors make this one watchable.
Daddy Cool
Trust Bollywood to remake a film called Death At A Funeral and have the horrible taste to name it, a film about a demised father, after a groovy Boney M song.
Suneil Shetty and Ashish Choudhary star in this more-or-less loyal remake which has all the scatological humour of the original but none of the true wit.
Baap Numbri Beta Dus Numbri
Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor made so many harebrained comedies together that, 20 years ago, they were cast as leads in this con 'comedy.'
Khan plays the father, Kapoor plays the son, and Jackie Shroff, like any of us who had the misfortune of watching this hit, was a helpless victim.
Paa
Director R Balki's said many a time that his film isn't about the condition of progeria but about the casting, about Abhishek Bachchan playing Amitabh Bachchan's father.
Abhi plays a spineless young politician who'd rather cavort with a freakishly tall 13-year-old than do any actual work, but at least Amitabh gets the voice right enough to be likeable.
Gandhi My Father
Feroz Abbas Khan's underviewed film is about the troubled relationship shared by the Mahatma and his son, Harilal.
Darshan Jariwala plays Gandhi and Akshaye Khanna plays Harilal in a film that is about how embittered the son gets to lose his father entirely to the political cause.