Baghban 2003

Raj Malhotra, Amitabh Bachchan, and his wife Pooja Malhotra, Hema Malini, have spent four decades together and raised a large, loving family. They are proud parents to four sons—Ajay Malhotra, Aman Verma; Sanjay Malhotra, Samir Soni; Rohit Malhotra, Saahil Chadha; and Karan Malhotra, Nasirr Khan—and they also adopt Alok Raj Malhotra, Salman Khan. Alok’s devotion to his adoptive father deepens after he falls in love with Arpita Raj, Mahima Chaudhry. Raj’s generosity shapes Alok’s sense of loyalty, and when Raj retires, the couple face a new challenge: their grown children are unable or unwilling to support them in their old age.

The shift in circumstances drives a dramatic decision. The children propose a jarring plan to the aging couple: they will split their parents up, with each parent living for the next six months with one of the sons. The parents accept the arrangement, hoping that their endurance and dignity will speak for themselves, even as they fear the emotional toll this separation will take. The order of the rotations is clear: Raj will stay first with Sanjay Malhotra and then with Rohit Malhotra, while Pooja will stay first with Ajay Malhotra and then with Karan Malhotra. This forced separation reveals the fragility of family bonds, as the elder couple navigates unfamiliar living spaces and the new rhythms of a life that no longer centers around their own home.

During Raj’s time with Sanjay, the warmth of family life is scarce except for one bright exception: his grandson Rahul provides a rare moment of affection in an otherwise strained episode. The estrangement weighs heavily on Raj, who begins to reflect in his writings on how he spent his life trying to fulfill his children’s dreams and how painful the current separation feels in light of the love he and Pooja share.

Meanwhile, Pooja endures harsh treatment at the hands of Ajay, along with his wife Kiran and their daughter Payal. The cruelty is heavy, but Payal’s attitude shifts after a defining moment: Pooja helps save her from a rape attempt by Payal’s boyfriend, and Payal slowly comes to show genuine love and gratitude for her grandmother. This complicated web of affection and abuse adds layers of tension to the family’s complicated dynamics.

After six months, Pooja and Raj reunite in Vijaynagar. There they encounter Alok, who brings them into his home and treats them with a level of care and respect they had not found with their own sons. The emotional rewards of this reunion are reinforced when Raj learns that his writings have been published as a novel called Baghban, thanks to Hemant — a café owner he befriended during his stay with Sanjay — along with two teenagers, Kapil and Nilli. The novel’s success provides the money Raj and Pooja need to support themselves, a turn of fortune that does not go unnoticed by their children.

As the book’s popularity grows, the four sons and their wives decide to attend the book’s ceremony to seek forgiveness. Yet not everyone can bring themselves to forgive: Rahul and Payal stay away, choosing not to participate in a ceremony that feels, to them, like a performance for money rather than true reconciliation. The remaining family members arrive to face Raj and Pooja’s demand for genuine accountability, and when the air clears, Raj and Pooja refuse to grant the forgiveness demanded by those who caused them so much pain.

In the end, the story circles back to the enduring bond between Raj and Pooja. Their decision to disown those who hurt them is not a triumphant proclamation but a measured, dignified stance that preserves the integrity of their own relationship. The film closes with Raj and Pooja reuniting with Payal and Rahul, reaffirming that, despite the fractures within the family, a stubborn, stubbornly hopeful love can endure and outlast even the hardest trials.