Attempting to emerge unscathed from under his more talented brother’s shadow, Suneel Darshan tries hard to deliver a personal story with parallels to the average man’s family life. Known for directing the atrocious Ajay and over-rated Jaanwar, Darshan must have thought that by hiring a huge star cast and throwing in some personal touches and Barjatya-ish sentiment, the audience would lap it up. Well, Mr. Darshan you can smile now, though only in a marginal sort of way.

Dependant on the age-old tale of father and son conflict, Darshan’s story is about mega-billionaire Vijay Kapoor’s (Amitabh Bachchan) difficulty seeing eye to eye with his offspring Ajay (Akshay Kumar). Each guy unfortunately emits a most unhealthy level of narcissism and insists upon shoving his ‘perfect’ opinions down the other’s (and the rest of the world’s) throat. Papa dearest thinks that success in life is unattainable without experience, while the offspring repeatedly argues that education makes esquires. The audience, including myself, would argue that both items are critical success factors, but who wants us stirring up the murky waters, eh Darshan-saab?

After all, Mr. Shoe-Licker, aka Rajesh Orphan (Mohnish Bahl), is already there to stir up trouble, no? Rajesh knows, unlike the rest of us, that the world’s business tycoons are sick and gullible egomaniacs needing perpetual yes-men for company. So he craftily woos Kapoor Senior with stories of how they both studied at the same Allahabad University and how he’s been collecting news articles of Mr. Moneybags for eons. Who wouldn’t be impressed with this outstanding young stalker… oops, I mean… boy. Vijay gives the malevolently intentioned goon all his trust and the hand of his eldest daughter, Preity (Juhi Chawla). (I think it is cause they make such a good crossword solving team.) Rajesh, in turn, as an act of good faith, turns pa against junior, and the latter leaves home.

Next, Orphan boy embezzles nearly all the gold out of the Kapoor kingdom, leaving just the family home and business up for auction. In a most preposterous but enjoyable scene, one sees him justifying his actions to his wife as a smart ‘business’ deal. (Don’t laugh. Save the howling for when you are watching the scene in the theatre. It is guaranteed to make you laugh again.) With family bonds at their weakest, how will the Kapoors ever get back to the respectable life they are so accustomed to?

Though far-fetched at times, it is a relatively engaging concoction. There are several simple yet enjoyable scenes of dad and son appreciating one another, which effectively demonstrate that Suneel can competently direct if he tries hard enough. (Witness the theeka sandwich sequence.) However Darshan’s problem is that he is not a natural, and often relies on the styles and feel of other directors to compensate for his uneasiness with his job. (Suneel started his career by serving as producer to his brother Dharmesh’s best and most underrated movie, Lootere.) The sweet and syrupy feel of a Sooraj Barjatya film (in the picnic sequence) cannot possibly work this time cause this is no utopian family. And the near photocopied bit of Raja Hindustani (from the ‘give me back my baby’ hospital sequence) is most unnecessary. (Heck, it did not even seem convincing in the original.)

The songs are good without being memorable, even though they are well captured through Sameer Reddy’s camera angles, and the background music is a definite plus.

Perhaps realizing their director’s unease, the film’s two key cast members work over-time to deliver a commendable product. Amitabh is calm, cool and collected, as always, conveying a loving but controlling paternal figure. (How one frankly wishes though that the movie were instead about his flirtatiously cute relationship with screen wife Raakhee - in a role, which largely wastes her talent, but brazenly displays her mature beauty.

Akshay Kumar is most surprisingly polished for an actor who often seems like a write-off of talent. Unfortunately, his character cries repeatedly in the movie, at the drop of each and every hat. And Akshay’s facial contortions during these scenes are most painful… for the audience.

Juhi Chawla and Karisma Kapoor are relegated to the sidelines for most of the proceedings though each looks as dazzlingly beautiful as ever. Miss Chawla, aka Mrs Mehta, was obviously pregnant during the shooting of this movie, though the director tried hard to hide the obvious. And Karisma is beginning to suffer from Sridevi syndrome when doing such sidey roles. It should be criminal for talent like this to waste her time doing roles meant for average actresses. Everyone else is competent, but Mohnish Bahl’s is a downer of a performance. Don’t really know if it is because he is almost always evil or his character was written as such, but he grates on your nerves so much when doing the goody two-shoes act early on. (Sad, cause he was quite competent playing the nice son in Hum Saath Saath Hain.)

Without springing any major surprises or revelations, Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love does end up being a watchable movie. Though when comparing to movies with similar themes, this one certainly is not in the league of Ramesh Sippy’s brilliant Shakti. Speaking of other titles though, you might agree that this Suneel Darshan concoction could use a Kaun Banega Crorepati based new one. How about “Who Wants to Swindle A Billionaire”?