The bond between Ajay and his father Purushottam turns sour after the untimely death of Ajay's mother, and the young man grows egotistic, rebellious and self-centered enough to lose even his closest friends. At this crossroads, fate serves Ajay a hard lesson that puts everything he has taken for granted at stake. What follows is a mix of thrill, humor and emotion as father and son are forced to confront what they have broken.
Baap Re Baap arrived in January 2019 as a small Gujarati comedy drama built around one of the industry's most familiar comic faces, Rajeev Mehta, cast in the titular role of a father named Purushottam. Directed by first-timer Sagar Kalaria and written by Dhaval Rathod, the film follows Ajay (Tej Joshi), a young man whose bond with his father curdles after his mother's death, until fate forces a reckoning. The setup is old-fashioned melodrama dressed in the lighter clothes of a comedy thriller.
The film's backstory is almost as telling as its plot. Conceived in 2015 and shot across Rajkot and Ahmedabad that same year, it then sat through nearly three years of troubled post-production before reaching screens, a gap that shows in its modest scale and low public profile. It never drew the volume of critical coverage that later Dhollywood hits managed, and its footprint online stays thin, carried mostly by a small, enthusiastic pool of viewer ratings rather than any consensus from established reviewers.
What it does have is a clear emotional spine and a lead who understands timing. Mehta anchors the father with the ease of a stage veteran, and the father-son core gives the humor somewhere to land. Rajiv Bhatt's soundtrack, including a title track and a rap version, leans into the film's playful side. Judged honestly, this is minor regional cinema, sincere and watchable but rarely surprising, the kind of family film that rewards patience more than it announces itself. Approach it as a warm domestic drama with comic edges rather than a landmark, and it holds up.
Verdict
A sincere, small-scale Gujarati father-son comedy drama that leans on Rajeev Mehta's timing more than on any real surprise.
What works
- Rajeev Mehta anchors the father with veteran comic timing
- A clear father-and-son emotional core
- Playful soundtrack from Rajiv Bhatt
- Sincere, family-friendly regional storytelling
What holds it back
- Nearly three years of troubled post-production shows in the scale
- Familiar redemption-arc melodrama
- Thin critical footprint and low public profile
- Rarely surprising for a genre it calls a thriller
Cast & crew
Writers: Dhaval Rathod
Music: Rajiv Bhatt
Cast: Rajeev Mehta (Purushottam (The Baap)), Tej Joshi (Ajay), Tillana Desai (Sapna), Bhargav Thaker (Vinit), Pratik Rathod (Divyesh)
Producers: Parth Banugaria, Sachin Rathod
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore Comedy Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is Baap Re Baap worth watching?
A sincere, small-scale Gujarati father-son comedy drama that leans on Rajeev Mehta's timing more than on any real surprise. Kevu Che rates it 3 out of 5.
What is Baap Re Baap about?
The bond between Ajay and his father Purushottam turns sour after the untimely death of Ajay's mother, and the young man grows egotistic, rebellious and self-centered enough to lose even his closest friends. At this crossroads, fate serves Ajay a hard lesson that puts everything he has taken for granted at stake. What follows is a mix of thrill, humor and emotion as father and son are forced to confront what they have broken.
What is the IMDb rating of Baap Re Baap?
Baap Re Baap (2019) holds an IMDb rating of 8.1 out of 10 from 22 votes.