Family: Ties of Blood (2006) User Reviews

vengeance but in different way

[mustafa-saify · 7/10 · 14 November 2010]

though its old story of vengeance but put it in whole lot different way!! may it would remind you of old 70's angry young man taking revenge but this time the revenge is more systematic and rational(in sense not a single man fighting whole system alone). the best thing i liked was music(cold blooded one)and screen play(hats off!! to mr.shridhar raghavan).

areyman ramsay justified the role completely. but amitabh was a real catch!! everything thing about him was extraordinary. he completely fits in the shoe of godfather whether its about his stylish wear or dialogue he deliver. especially in end when he talks about how he became criminal and all with policeman is too good to watch.End was bit violent and exaggerated but still it was overshadowed by amitabh's look and acting in last 30 minutes.

A always thought thought raj kumar santoshi bit heavy to digest in past( though this one also falls in same category thats why 7 rating) but cinematography,screenplay,music and dialogue were really good to get it to 7. I always wonder why such movies don't get enough audience's to theater and other hyped movies takes it all. Indian cinema needs to change its mindset because beyond ordinary their is always excellence!!

Masala movie

[rkamble · 7/10 · 19 April 2006]

A movie made for contemporary audience. The masses get to see what they want to see. Action, comedy, drama and of course sensuous scenes as well. This is not exactly a movie that one would feel comfortable watching with entire family. It isn't for eyes of children. I had to fast forward quite a number of scenes.

If it is just entertainment you are looking for, then this movie has it all. The songs are catchy. A lavish production, I must add.

However, the message of the movie is not universal. It emphasizes on the idea of karma. That is, if you do good, you will get good. And if you do evil, you will get evil. The fruit of good deeds is good, while the fruit of evil is evil.

In real life, this is not always true. It is well-known that most people do not get justice in this world. While it is true that some evil people do meet with an evil end, there are many who escape. And then, there are many people who do good, and yet in return they meet with a sorry end.

If you don't care about the message, and all you want is an escape from worldly reality, this movie is an entertainer alright.

Unappreciated

[vardhmanrocks · 7/10 · 15 September 2023]

This was an original story. The star cast was good but the issue for people was the lead was a newcomer and was not appreciated by audiences the music was really good and all actors played their role well. It just thay fact is audience fail appreciate good story and look past the actors physical features. The story had all the important ingredients of revenge story and depiction of how actually bond is between younger and elder brothers in middle class families but it was just not good time for the movie. It was maybe just released little early then it's time because I cannot find any other reason for this movies failure.

Bollywood Fun

[Crap_Connoisseur · 15 January 2006]

Family is a hugely entertaining example of Bollywood's ability to extract ideas from American movies and turn them into something distinctly Indian. The film deftly extracts elements from American action blockbusters and expertly blends them with the comedy, romance and music usually associated with Bollywood.

The film follows the lives of two very different families and examines the tragic consequences that arise when they accidentally become intertwined. Despite the fact that the film involves murder, kidnapping and various other tragedies, it somehow manages to remain remarkably upbeat.

A real highlight of the film is the cast. I have always thought that Amitabh Bachchan vaguely resembles Al Pacino and as the cruel gangster Viren Sahi, he gets an opportunity to do his best Pacino impression. Mr Bachchan makes a pretty hilarious gangster, looking vaguely ridiculous with blond highlights in his hair and a collection of suits that Liberace would find vulgar. While he may not be particularly convincing during the action sequences, Amitabh Bachchan comes into his own during the more dramatic moments and proves yet again that he is the most entertaining actor working in India today.

The ubiquitous Ashkay Kumar plays Shekhar, Viren Sahi's polar opposite. If Amitabh Bachchan is the Indian Al Pacino, then Ashkay Kumar is the Bollywood version of David Hasselhoff - an all singing and dancing entertainment train wreck. The scene in which Ashkay performs a hip hop number (complete with bling diamanté sunglasses) on the top of a temple has to be seen to be believed. Aryeman debuts as Shekhar's brother, Aryan. It's good to see that nepotism is alive and well in India as Aryeman also happens to be the producer's son. Surprisingly, Aryeman is an unexpectedly good actor and manages to be convincing in the film's most demanding role.

In addition to fabulous musical segments, which take place everywhere from the above mentioned temple to a porn site in cyberspace, Family also contains several memorable fight sequences and a couple of well constructed car chases. A scene in which Aryan abseils down a skyscraper before swinging through a glass window would make Michael Bay green with envy.

Bollywood films are not for everyone, the mixing of genres can be disconcerting and the long running times may seem unnecessary. However, if you are the mood to try something different, Family is a good place for western viewers to start.

Blood...Blood...Everywhere

[BiswajitSince2005 · 7/10 · 29 March 2007]

Family is about two families who are after each other's blood.

Viren Sahay (Amitabh Bachchan) is an underworld don, operates from Bangkok. He has a family in India. Once by mistake he kills Shekhar (Akshay Kumar). Like Viren Sahay, he also has a family (a brother, wife and parents). Aryan (Aryaman), Shekhar's brother is out to take revenge of his brother's death. He kidnaps Viren Sahay's family for the same reason.

The film has got one turning point (Amitabh Bachchan). Second half of the movie belongs to him completely where instead of his dialogs, expression matters more. Akshay's minuscule role has also put him at par with Amitabh. I didn't understand what Bhumika Chawala was doing in this movie.

There were a few loose points in the script; like; Amitabh has been shown as the most wanted criminal of the city still he walks scot-free in the city. Kidnapping of his family is also seemed vague. How can the family of such a big don doesn't have any security cover?

A good illustration of the film's theme: karma

[AishFan · 6/10 · 21 May 2006]

Family is a story about two families--that of the simple chef Akshay Kumar and that of the mafia don, Amitabh Bachchan. However, looking more deeply, Family illustrates the power of karma with each of the characters. Akshay Kumar has unconditional love for his parents and brother, which result in his wife dedicating the rest of her life to him and his brother avenging his death. Aaryaman's irresponsible and vile behavior results in extreme guilt when his parents blame him for his brother's death. Amitabh's evil/selfish ways and lack of concern for his family results in his wife's death and his son's betrayal. His murderous profession, including killing Akshay, results in a lifelong loneliness. Rajkumar Santoshi creates yet another great, intense drama with a shocking climax. Amitabh, of course, does a fantastic job as does Akshay. Although Bhumika is hardly in the movie, her scenes with Akshay are nice. Aaryaman gives a fair debut. Amitabh's family also gives nice performances. Qatra Qatra is a nice song.

Not a family entertainer

[sandhirflora · 4/10 · 22 January 2006]

The premise and subject about making a criminal realize what his victims went through by capturing his family hostage sounds promising and interesting. But this is the only interesting part which was also dealt 20 years ago with quite finesse by director Ravi Tandon in his film "Jawab'(1985) too. The problem here is Ace Director Rajkumar Santoshi found himself in some sort of confusion as to whether to make it a fast paced action-thriller (viz. Khakee) or an emotions-rich heavy duty drama (Viz. Damini) and this confusion is quite evident in the final outcome. If we ignore two of his-Pukar (2000) and Lajja(2001), this brilliant director has always given us fairly engrossing films with high entertainment value. Therefore this film comes as a surprise, as to what made this script –sensitive director going for half-baked characterization of both of his protagonists-Amitabh Bachchan and Aryeman. As the film is getting over, audience didn't know whom to hate and whom to sympathize with and this factor is the major limiting force in the complete narration. Therefore what starts as a war between a common man and an underworld don ends on a strange note of self-realization and regret by the Don about what went wrong with his own family. The revelation of Don's son as a real baddie does not come as a surprise element in the climax which if compared to similar situation in 'Khakee" worked so effectively with Aishwarya's character. That is not all, there is more to it. The whole dramatization of life of an Underworld Don, operating from abroad looks quite illogical. His openly landing up at Mumbai from where he is suppose to be absconding as well as running after his enemies and shooting them himself does not look believable. Pitching a mediocre, newcomer actor like Aryeman opposite Mr. Bachchan is again not a good idea. But nonetheless film has some plus points. Ashok Mehta's fine camera-work, two good fight sequences (co-ordinator Abbas Ali Moughal), some light well-acted scenes of Akshay Kumar in the Ist half, Santoshi's fast-paced slick treatment and of course Mr. Bachchan as usual trying hard to put some life into his lifeless character. But all these put together does not make this viewing an exciting experience for you and your Family!

A Big Disappointment

[superindrajit · 3/10 · 24 February 2016]

When Family:Ties of Blood(2006) was announced, many people were exhilarated because of the star cast and a very promising director. A typical moviegoer would have thought that nothing could go wrong with such a promising film as the trailers were amazing. Another thing going for the movie was some of its catchy songs. However, the result was a shoddy movie full of tepid moments.

Rajkumar Santoshi's Family is a violent action flick in which Akshay Kumar and Aryaman Ramsay play brothers. They are from a happy middle class family and things get better when Akshay gets married to Bhumika Chawla, the heroine of this dreadful film. However, all goes awry when Akshay suddenly meets a tragic end. Aryaman decides to avenge his brother by kidnapping the family of Amitabh Bachchan, the mafia don who killed Akshay. What follows is a predictable game of cat and mouse which creates more bloodshed.

Normally, Rajkumar Santoshi is a brilliant director with acclaimed hits like Ghayal(1990), Ghatak(1996), and Khakee(2004). However, this time, he messes up badly. Shaktimaan Talwar's script was nothing great in the first place but one expected Santoshi to direct this script effectively. The script contains some light moments but they bore after a point. The action scenes are supposed to be the film's highlight but they are too over the top and ultra violent. The kidnapping scenes are extremely amateurish and lack the impact. The ending is way too overdone with more tedious violence. Basically, Rajkumar Santoshi has done an extremely poor job at directing this film. Tigmanshu Dhulia's dialogs are functional.

Amitabh Bachchan is not in form and tends to go over the top with his expressions. He performs ably but this is nowhere close to being as great as his cop act in Khakee. Akshay Kumar is completely wasted and this is very irritating for any Akshay fan. Being a big fan, I could not tolerate the fact that he had such a small role. He was funny in some comic scenes but his character is sidelined quite early in the film. Aryaman Ramsay is no hero and it was ridiculous of Rajkumar Santoshi to give him the bigger role. He hams throughout the role and it would have been better if he was dismissed early instead of Akshay Kumar. Bhumika Chawla gives a restrained performance but has very little scope to show her talent. Kader Khan has a few moments and he is wasted. Sushant Singh hams it up completely as Amitabh's spoilt son. The rest of the cast provide average support.

Ram Sampath's music is the saving grace of this disastrous film. Quick Bite is a fun introduction song which shows Akshay's entertaining work life. Qatra Qatra is the best of the lot with its catchy beats. The other songs are also nice.

On the whole, Family is a big disappointment and this explains why it was a box office flop. Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan have not been utilized effectively and this must have been a big downer for many people.

Letdown

[silvan-desouza · 1/10 · 2 February 2016]

After the average success of Khakee, RKS returned with this film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bhumika Chawla and introduced Keshu Ramsay's son Aryeman. The film was quite in news, though the promos were routine, In fact RKS had said in an interview that the film has meat that most films those days lacked and that Aryeman wasn't taken just because he is a producer's son and had to do lot of hardwork.etc but sadly the film proves him wrong. RKS seems to just repeat his formula with this film, perhaps it was made to introduce Aryeman in a big way. The film has a decent story but it's handled in a very outdated manner It reminds us of cinema of 70s The film starts well, Amitabh's scenes are well handled,the film then introduces Akshay Kumar who just has 30 mins screen time though he was used a lot in the promos, The characters are well introduced but sadly the film gets predictable and hence boring, the ease at which most family members of Amitabh are kidnapped is hard to digest. The second half goes on and on, there are few scenes well handled no doubt but there are few and far. The climax too leaves a lot to be desired. Direction is not up to the mark Music is okay

Amitabh Bachchan played a gangster before in Agneepath and many films, but in this film his character is routine, though he performs well yet this isn't his best, also his dubbing is done by Sudesh Bhonsle in many scenes and in some scenes the original soundtrack is retained which has his voice and hence the mismash. Akshay Kumar has 30 mins and he gets to do typical stuff also he was getting repetitive by then in those kinda roles surprisingly the same director used both of them to their best in Khakee Bhumika Chawla is surprisingly the best of the lot Aryeman tries hard but lacks the power to carry of his role, to give him his due he is okay for a debut, but sadly his career went nowhere Shernaz Patel is awful, Sushant Singh overacts, Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays an extra, one of Aryeman's friends and he is unnoticeable. Anjan Shrivastav is as usual, rest are all okay The film also has Kader Khan, Raza Murad, Gulshan Grover in small roles

Better Than Some Say It Is

[uncle_g1234 · 8/10 · 31 December 2006]

Well, I get used after awhile to read comments about these movies that don't reflect my experience at all. To me, Amitabh was a better villain here than in some of his most famous movies. He was a die-hard villain, a no-apologies villain. To me it was a breath of fresh air to see him in a role where his villainy isn't sort of undercut in some way.

The kid who played Aryan was probably over his head with this cast. There I think maybe the director could have done better. But, to be honest, the very best part of this movie was Shernaz Patel. She is an unsung heroine, a true veteran thespian who is overqualified for every role she is offered. But I must say I appreciated her contribution greatly as she played Virendra Sahi's wife. She may be given little to do, but she does everything with total conviction. I'm sure she sailed right over the heads of most of the audience.

So if you are in a habit for settling for Bollywood average, you won't get much out of this movie. But if you constantly search for something more, then this might give you some of what you've been missing.

Exceptional Bad Movie By The Great Director

[shiv_mehta1988 · 3/10 · 7 June 2006]

Rajkumar Santoshi Without Any Doubt Has Directed The Greatest Movies And Biggest Box Office Hits Of Indian Cinema.

This Movie Falls Short Of All Expectations As This Movie Stars Two Great Actors Mr. Amitabh Bachchan And Akshay Kumar And When You Have These Two Actors In The Same Movie You Have To Make A Magnum Opus.

In The Later Part Of The Movie You Can Make Out That Amitabh Bachchan's Voice Has Been Dubbed By Some Other Person Which Was Due To His Illness.

Still The Movie Did'nt Had Proper Character Development Plus Cinematography Was'nt Good Too And One Thing That Bollywood Should Learn Is That They Should Use Visual Effects Only When It Is Needed And When Applied Should Be Done With A High Budget.The Script Had So Many Flaws Which Gives The Viewer Excuses To Attend His Phone Calls Rather Than Watching The Movie.

The New Comer Shakes The Leg Well But Could Not Act Well But Where The Movie Loses Big Time Is The Storyline Screenplay And Cinematography.

A Talented Actor Like Bhoomika Chawla Has Been Wasted In The Movie As Well As Sushant Singh.

But Every Director Once In A While In His Career Makes A Bad Film.

So Watch It Only If You Are A Fan Of Multi-Starrer Flop Movies.

Not worth it

[smaruti · 23 April 2006]

The story has been mentioned many a time and I agree with all the other comments.

In summary its a waste of 153 minutes and there is literally NOTHING worth watching this movie for.

Only the first 10-12 minutes are okay and that too because of the comic aspect of Akshay and the innocence of Bhumika.

My advice watch the first 10 minutes then read the reviews and watch Rang De Basanti again if you have to.

Rajkumar Santoshi should have made a comedy with Amitabh and Akshay rather than making this disaster !!

AMITABH was the only actor in this bad movie

[kichdi · 4/10 · 3 August 2012]

Family is a poor movie with some of the worst acting by most cast, Aryeman the ever wrong doer of the movie, Akshay Kumar who has forgotten all his so-called acting skills, Bhumika chawla who is as bad as ever. The only actor who could act was Amitabh Bachchan who is a thoroughbred, like billions of his fans I watched this crappy movie only for the legend called Amitabh.

There is too much of violence in the movie, it is not for children. Amitabh as the villain plays superbly, his arrogance, style & dialogues tower like a lighthouse amidst pitch darkness. No wonder he is the most supreme actor in world cinema. Contrast to this angry old man role with Viruddh where he plays a very meek old man & you will know what Amitabh is all about. Phenomenal to say the least. The best scene being Amitabh pouring a jug full of water on the head of Kader Khan.

Family has no punch, the script is shoddy, Kader Khan & Raza Murad have been wasted. The movie is very badly directed & one gets the feeling that Raj Kumar Santoshi might have directed this movie in sleep. You just cannot believe he is the one who directed Damini a realistic & hard hitting movie. Not every actor is as lucky as Akshay Kumar is, his father in law being Rajesh Khanna, the actor who is as good as Amitabh is, but Akshay seemed to have learnt nothing from his legendary Rajesh Khanna. Akshay is a very poor hero who just cannot act or emote. The worst part played was by the squint eye Aryeman who cannot even open his eyes fully.

Excellent Movie!

[hytz · 8/10 · 10 February 2007]

Not many reviews, hence thought i would add one.

DO NOT GO BY THE OTHER REVIEWS! This was a excellent movie.

RKS is one of the very few Indian directors that can actually put together a really good movie.

AB and Akshay given yet another example of great acting, as does bhoomika too, which was a little unexpected, but great to watch.

Am surprised there has not been much hype around release.

Or filmfare/other awards nominations, considering how good the movie was.

Better then Khakee i thought and i thought Khakkee too was good movie.

Is a fairly long movie, but definitely worth it and while watching it, definitely does seem long.

Cant wait for RKS next movie and the next AB, Akshay movie they always seem to do well together... e.g. waqt.

Bhoomika too has acted really well in the movie and should do really well if she continue in the same fashion in the future.

My Favorite Movie

[holamellamosanjeev · 10/10 · 27 August 2008]

Even though this was a disaster in the box office, It is my favorite film. It gives a powerful message of family. It has a lot of violence and has one song with a bunch of girls in bikinis. Compared to other bollywood films, the action scenes in this movie are more realistic. It is an incredible combination of Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. If you want to see the Indian Godfather, Amitabh portrays that in this film. Don't read reviews by critic, they're just stupid. This movie has good mix of comedy, romance, drama, and especially action. So if you want to see action more realistic than Main Hoon Na(still good movie), this is the movie.

A Great Movie

[vjkaram · 8/10 · 15 February 2009]

I have decided to not believe what famous movie critics say. Even though this movie did not get the best comments, this movie made my day. It got me thinking. What a false world this is.

What do you do when your most loved ones deceive you. It's said that no matter how often you feed milk to a snake, it can never be loyal and will bite when given a chance. Same way some people are such that they are never grateful. This movie is about how selfish people can be and how everyone is ultimately just thinking about oneself and working for oneself.

A brother dies inadvertently at the hands of a gangster. The surviving brother decides to take revenge. Through this process, we learn about the futility of this world. Nothing is real and no one is loyal to anyone.

Amitabh gave the performance of his life. The new actor Aryan gave a good performance. The actress who played the wife of Amitabh stole the show. Her role was small but she portrayed her role so diligently that one is moved by her performance. Chawla had really great face expressions but her role was very limited and was not given a chance to fully express herself.

A great movie by Raj Kumar Santoshi. His movies always give some message to the audience. His movies are like novels of Nanak Singh (a Punjabi novelist who's novels always had a purpose and targeted a social evil) because they have a real message for the audience. They are entertaining as well as lesson-giving.

One of The Best Mafia Movies

[moneymafia1247 · 10/10 · 28 June 2013]

Oh hell yeah...Big B is in his best suited role.

Nobody act well as a UNDERWORLD DON than Big B. No doubt at all.

One of my favorite crime movie.

Direction of Mr. Rajkumar Shantoshi is awesome as always. Hats off to you sir.

Very nice acting by all except Aryeman Ramsay. Akshay Kumar's comedy is very nice. Songs are so so (Really not needed). Big B's personality and acting is awesome. Vijay Dinanath Chavan is back.

If you are looking for nice mafia movie or if you are fan of Hollywood's crime movies than "Family" is for you...

Noir thriller where hostages takers are the goodies

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 11 February 2018]

One amazing crime movie from India, as we will never see from Hollywood. Actually, you have not really any good vs heavy characters scheme here. Not really. It's a vengeance tale where you may feel empathy for each of the opponents. I won't repeat the topic but it's not usual and predictable. The particularity is that this is a film noir and a thriller in the same time. Indian film industry contains many gems over there, gems which I am proud and lucky to have purchased for many of them. Convincing performances as well as good action sequences. I highly recommand it.

Wow

[ziadansarikool · 10/10 · 27 March 2011]

Watched this film. So great. Loved performances of Akshay & Big B. Aryeman got no little scope. Story is quite powerful yet very dramatic when Akshay gets killed by AB. Overall but ending was quite disappointing. But movie was a whole entertaining with some comedy at beginning. Akshay is hardly for 20 minutes but role was great. Aryeman have to improve a lot. Bhumika is rarely fine. Amitabh who plays villain is also Great. Overall Family is a great film especially for Akshay's fans. But Aryeman is great at only sometimes when he was performing a dangerous stunt. But overall he is the sole hero of film. His friends is also quite great. Aryeman lisps sometimes when dialogues comes.

Awesome

[saurav-esdi · 9/10 · 17 August 2019]

I love this movie, being directedby one of my favorite directors, Rajkumar Santoshi. This movie showed if u love ur family u can go to any extend to avenge loss of ur loved ones.

The lights are on but nobody's home

[AvinashPatalay · 12 October 2010]

Movies under the directorial reigns of Rajkumar Santoshi are always looked forward to. After "Khakee" the audience were expecting more from Big B-Santoshi combo. The expectations were to showcase different version of pent up anger from Big B. Even the looks and the promos set the expectations in the minds to expect something different which wasn't tried out by Big B yet. Akshay Kumar had scored a home-run with his latest back-to-back hits at the box-office, so again he was riding high. Bhumika Chawla was still carrying the "Tere Naam" tag to herself. It was a sure-shot winner from all sides.

Sadly what turned out finally was nothing but deprecated version of "Ghayal" only tweaked to make the producers son jump into the shoes of Sunny Deol. And yes Akshay Kumar donning the elder brother which was made memorable by Raj Babbar. Because Big B is tagged to the project, Amrish Puri's character is extended to add emotional quotient. Sorry, the audience ain't buying it.

Akshay Kumar's character surprisingly gets bumped mysteriously. Wonder if that was actually part of the script or production conflicts dictated it otherwise. No wonder his fan base cried foul.

Big B's role it appears to me was meant to be a natural transformation of an upright person relegated to the dark side. Sadly the writing is a big fault here, which otherwise could have showcased Amitabh skill donning a negative role.

Aryeman Ramsay, I would refuse to even comment on it.

Shernaz Patel was miscast opposite Big B.

I would certainly blame the Rajkumar Santoshi, Rajat Arora and Tigmanshu Dhulia for the failure of this product. It was a golden opportunity lost.