102 Not Out 2018

Dattatraya Vakharia [Amitabh Bachchan] is a lively 102-year-old who approaches life with the energy of a 26-year-old, treating each day with humor and a heart full of youth. His son, Babulal Vakharia [Rishi Kapoor], is his opposite: a 75-year-old man who believes he is too old to enjoy life and prefers a steady, routine existence. The household also includes Dhiru [Jimit Trivedi], the loyal pharmacy employee who delivers medications to the Vakharias’ home, quietly observing the old man’s boundless spirit.

Dattatraya’s grand aim is to break the record for the oldest living person on Earth, a feat currently held by a Chinese man. He believes he must live another sixteen years to reach that milestone, but there’s a catch: he insists on avoiding negative-thinking people to protect his health. To force a change in his son’s outlook, he threatens to send Babulal to an old age home, a threat that unsettles the practical, home-loving man who has grown accustomed to the comforts of family life. The deal is simple yet sharp: Babulal must agree to a set of conditions if he wants to stay at home and continue living life under his father’s roof.

The first condition is unexpectedly intimate: Babulal must write a love letter to his deceased wife, Chandrika. After some reflection, he drafts it and hands it to his father, who reads and chuckles, finding a bittersweet satisfaction in the gesture. The second condition involves a visit to Babulal’s regular doctor. Dattatraya accompanies them, and under his pressure, Babulal is pushed to accuse the doctor of theft. The aim is clear—to sever the routine contact that keeps Babulal visiting the clinic each day. Babulal agrees to drop the daily clinic visits, even though he does not actually believe the doctor is guilty. The third condition asks him to cut holes in his childhood blanket, a request he rejects on the spot, signaling that this challenge is perhaps more symbolic than practical.

A turning point arrives when Babulal, guided by Dhiru, travels across Mumbai to places like Juhu Garden in Santacruz and St. Sebastian’s Church in Chembur. Dattatraya reveals a hidden history: he and Babulal had shared joyful moments at the garden in childhood, and Amol [Dharmendra Gohil]—Babulal’s estranged son—had grown up attending prayers at the church. Amol had been sent to the USA for education, later marrying there and losing regular contact with his father. These visits uncover long-buried memories that shift Babulal’s perspective on life. By the end of the day, Babulal’s sadness gives way to a sense of renewed wonder as he shares cake with street children, and he begins to see life with a lighter, more hopeful touch—just as his father had hoped.

On Babulal’s birthday, Amol tries to reconnect, but Dattatraya chooses not to share the news immediately and withholds the flowers. After they finally arrive, Babulal learns that Amol is coming to India the following month. He confronts Dattatraya about the secrecy, feeling betrayed by the withholding of information. When Amol’s motives are questioned, Babulal refuses to cut him out of the family, prompting Dhiru to side with a more forgiving approach for the first time. The tension peaks as Dattatraya reveals a deeper truth: he has been living with a brain tumor for a long time, and the “old age home” ploy was a ruse to push his son toward a healthier, more open outlook on life.

In a moment of clarity, Babulal rejects the harsh last demand to expel Amol, instead choosing to test a broader family future. As the story nears its end, Dattatraya hints at a final, symbolic farewell—he asks Babulal to whistle when he dies to honor a life well lived. The film closes with a poignant tape from Dhiru, recorded just two days before, where Dattatraya contemplates mortality and teases that the “record” of the longest living person may be broken by his son in the years to come. The journey transforms 102 not out into 102 out, as Babulal, having learned to embrace life’s joys and complexities, becomes a new beacon of hope for a family that has learned to navigate age, pride, memory, and love.