Director: Priyadarshan Starring: Akshay Khanna, Paresh Rawal, Genelia D'Souza, Shobhana & Rajpal Yadav The plot: This romantic comedy focuses on authoritarian shop-manager Gaurav (Akshay) who lives with his widowed and retired father, Rane (Paresh). Gaurav is always reprimanding his rather timid dad because his lusty old best-friend, Mathur (Om), always gets him into a mess with policewoman, Bhawani (Archana). But Gaurav himself is in trouble with American-based Shakshi (Genelia), who wants to settle an old college score. What's more, Shakshi's aunty, Anuradha, happens to be Rane's childhood sweetheart. When Gaurav gets wind of this, he takes it upon himself to get his dad reunited with his old flame. But in the process he falls in love with Shakshi bringing more headache for our hero! The verdict: What begins as a comedy quickly turns into a serious melodrama post intermission with few tear-jerking moments inbetween. The film consists of many sub-plots bringing up a smile but unlike Priyadarshan's previous flicks - Hera Pheri and Malamaal Weekly - this one is not a laugh-out-loud comedy. Without doubt, this film works purely because of Akshay Khanna and Paresh Rawal's surprising performance of an endearing father-son relationship. Rawal is simply brilliant. Comedy is his forte and he gives all he's got. Genelia, who stands tall against these veteran actors, is also a pleasure to watch. Sadly though, the rest of the talented comic cast - Rajpal Yadav, Archana and Om Puri - are relegated to the sidelines whilst Naseerudin Shah in a brief appearance makes a full impact towards the end. Mere Baap Phele Aap is worth seeing for performances only. | 
