Producer: Shri Krishna Films 
Director: Sunil Darshan 
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Mohnish Behl,
Music: Nadeem Shravan

After the tremendous hype that the film has received it falls flat, and at most qualifies as a poor man's Yash Chopra production. Suneel Darshan has tried to bring in the Yash Chopra look and feel; but succeeds only in places.

Amitabh Bachchan is in the host's chair, yet he is the one who claims the prize... Of all the performances in Suneel's Darshan's Ek Rishtaa -- The Bond Of Love, it is this consummate actor who walks away with the accolades.

Even Akshay Kumar, normally dubbed a rather wooden actor, has delivered a reasonably commendable performance. Karisma, as usual, looks lovely. No one can doubt the acting skills of Rakhee, Juhi Chawla or Mohnish Bahl.

Sameer Reddy's cinematography is pleasing. Darshan himself, it is obvious, has put in a tremendous amount of hard work. Ek Rishtaa-The Bond Of Love tells the story of Vijay Kapoor (Amitabh Bachchan), a dynamic businessman, whose source of strength is his wife Pratima (Raakhee). They have three daughters – Rani, Priya (Simone Singh) and Priti (Juhi Chawla), the eldest daughter, who is the apple of her father's eye. The son, Ajay (Akshay Kumar), is studying abroad to secure his Masters in Information Technology.

An aspiring business graduate Rajesh Purohit (Mohnish Bahl) idolises Vijay Kapoor and the latter is impressed by his qualities and capabilities. Priti falls in love with Rajesh and Vijay Kapoor approves their relationship.

Meanwhile, Ajay wishes to start his own business to which Vijay Kapoor convinces him that it is imperative for him to first gain experience in the family business as he is just a novice, and later delve into different spheres.

As they start working together, ideological differences start cropping up between the father and son. Obviously, there is a generation gap between them. Ajay has imbibed western ideologies, which he wants to apply, while Vijay Kapoor strongly opposes it. This leads to a rift between the father and son.

Obstinacy to their stands worsens the condition, leading to fallout between the father and son. What happens next? What happens to the bonds of love that once held the family together? Will these relationships ever reunite? Will they stand the test of time?

The music by Nadeem-Shravan leaves a lot to be desired. Dialogue writer K K Singh wakes up a few times in between the 17-reel-long film and contributes some heartrending lines for both Amitabh and Akshay, who stand out with brilliant performances. While one cannot stop heaping praise on Bachchan for lifting the film, Akshay stands up to Bachchan with a good, restrained performance, unlike in his last release, Khiladi 420, where he was too loud.

On the whole, Suneel Darshan’s Ek Rishta is targeted at the family audience and will satiate the appetite of those seeking clean entertainment. The three assets of the film – its impressive star cast, the sensitively-handled family scenes and melodious music – will benefit the film aplenty. It is the kind of film you might want to watch after your exams... or because there's nothing much to do until Lagaan releases sometime next month. After all, the film does have its moments. But be prepared for a beginning that drags and for moments that annoy, even if you are the forgiving, time-pass, Hindi film watcher.