It tells the story of an elderly couple, Raj (Amitabh Bachchan) and Pooja (Hema Malini), who have been married for 40 years.

After Raj retires, they reunite with their four sons (Aman Verma, Samir Soni, Saahil Chadha, and Nasir Khan) to discuss who will support them.

Baghban was conceived by producer and co-writer B. R. Chopra during his 1960s trip across Europe, when he visited a retirement home and was inspired by the householders' story.

It received mixed reviews from critics; Bachchan and Malini's performances were praised, but the film's storyline and the chemistry between the lead actors were criticised.

Raj learns that his writings have been published as Baghban, named after Hemant, a café owner whom he befriended, along with two teenagers Kapil and Nilli, during his stay with Sanjay.

Knowing that their parents are earning more than them due to the launch success of the novel, the four sons and their wives plan to go to their book ceremony event for forgiveness.

The cast is listed below:[3][4] The idea for Baghban came to director and producer B. R. Chopra in Copenhagen during a tour across Europe in the 1960s, when he stayed at a hotel next to a retirement home.

During a 1973 holiday in Lonavla, he began writing the screenplay one afternoon and continued for fourteen hours; he finished it the next morning.

Ravi was filming the action drama Zameer, a 1975 release starring Amitabh Bachchan and Saira Banu.

[5] According to Ravi Chopra, who initially liked the story and wanted to direct it, he tried several times to revive the production but his other projects "kept coming to the fore".

[9] The role of Raj Malhotra, for which Ravi Chopra had wanted Kumar, was given to Bachchan because the former actor was too old to play a 60-year-old man.

Mohnish Behl was offered Aman Verma's role but did not accept it because he did not want to be portrayed as the father of a 15-year-old girl.

[12] Portions of Baghban were also filmed in London,[13] and it was edited by Shailendra Doke, Godfrey Gonsalves, and Shashi Mane.

[17][18] Bachchan performed vocals for most of the songs with Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Shrivastava, Hema Sardesai, Sudesh Bhosale, Richa Sharma, Sneha Pant and Sukhwinder Singh.

[20] Baghban had pre-release publicity because of its pairing of Amitabh Bachchan and Malini for the first time since the action film Andha Kanoon (1983).

[23] Opening during Vijayadashami, the film had competition from Yusuf Khan's action thriller Khel: No Ordinary Game and Chandan Arora's comedy-drama Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon.

It was remade in Kannada as Ee Bandhana, a 2007 film directed by Vijayalakshmi Singh which received critical acclaim.

[39] Baghban had mixed reviews from critics, who praised its performances, primarily those of Bachchan and Malini, but panned the chemistry between the actors and the film's story.

"[18] Director and critic Khalid Mohamed gave the film three stars, saying that it "is unthinkable without the imperishable grace and beauty projected" from Malini.

However, he compared its direction to Indian television shampoo advertisements and called its cinematography and production design as "old worldly as bell bottoms".

"[43] Mid-Day's Narendra Kusnur called Bachchan's performance one of his best since the 1990s,[44] and—according to Manjula Negi of the Hindustan Times—he "carries forward the plot" along with Malini.

"[49] According to Rajen Garabadu of NDTV, "Baghban 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.

[51] 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".

[52] 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".

[54] K. N. Vijiyan of the New Straits Times called the film "the perfect comeback vehicle" for Malini,[55] 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 ..."[56]