received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, primarily Bachchan and Malini's, but panned the chemistry between the actors and the film's story.
Taran Adarsh of
Bollywood Hungama gave it two stars and said that Bachchan delivered a "powerful" and "memorable" performance; Adarsh said that Malini was "elegant and conveys the pathos convincingly". Seema Pant of
Rediff.com praised the film: " has a high emotional quotient. Director Ravi Chopra retains his audience's interest in the lives of Raj and Puja Malhotra. Despite some unconvincing moments in the plot, keeps the viewers involved all the way to the climax."
Ziya Us Salam said, "[Ravi] Chopra, on his part, brings a rare sight to the Indian screen. Here the aged couple is, yes, aged. Yet the romance is still very much a part of their life. The ardour for physical fulfilment may have gone but the need for proximity is there."
Mid-Day Narendra Kusnur called Bachchan's performance one of his best since the 1990s, and—according to Manjula Negi of the
Hindustan Times—he "carries forward the plot" along with Malini.
Ram Kamal Mukherjee of
Stardust wrote that remains one of the decade's finest Bollywood films; Mukherjee said that Salman Khan delivered a "seasoned" performance, but Chaudhry was a "total waste".
Filmfare critic Gautam Buragohain was ambivalent about the film, enjoying the performances but finding the story "stale"; he believed the plot was based on a similar film (the 1983 drama
Avtaar), and dismissed as "predictable". Omar Ahmed of
Empire praised for its exploration of family values and Indian culture. Parag Chandrabala Maniar, who reviewed the film for
B4U, agreed with Buragohain about the film's similarity to
Avtaar but gave a more-positive reception. Calling the first part of was "predictable" and "hackneyed", he said that Bachchan was "excellent" as Raj. The character was "conveying love, anger and pain through his intelligent eyes. Bachchan makes the film worth a watch!" According to Rajen Garabadu of
NDTV, " dwells on the new generation, their false aspirations and confused priorities [...] The film is replete with its fair share of drama (sometimes a little exaggerated), song and dance sequences and a couple of blows delivered here and there. Ravi Chopra has not experimented too much. He has wisely invested in human love, affection and familial bonding to reap the rewards for him." In
The Afternoon Despatch & Courier,
Deepa Gahlot called the film's plot "terribly worn out" and "very 60s", but the chemistry of Bachchan and Malini (and their performances) satisfied the audience and concealed the film's flaws. In
The Times of India, Parul Gupta described Khan's brief appearance as Raj's and Pooja's adopted son as "a picture of the obedient offspring" and called the film "
larger-than-life".
Sify's Kunal Shah said that although he was sure that Chopra had addressed the themes in his previous work, the director "has been successful in coming up with good performances from the lead cast".
Namrata Joshi of
Outlook criticised the film's length and number of "family functions". She praised the performances (especially Bachchan's), and said the film "seems to have been tailormade" for his fans. Joshi said that Bachchan overshadowed Malini with his "perfect efficiency and elan", but she praised Malini's "fetching and elegant" look. K. N. Vijiyan of the
New Straits Times called the film "the perfect comeback vehicle" for Malini, and
Derek Elley of
Variety said: "It takes stars of Bachchan and Hema Malini's stature to make the confection work, and luckily they're both up to the job, creating a palpable sense of the couple's mutual affection ..." == Accolades ==