Initially, Varma is very proud of his son Rakesh. Rakesh is a very hard-working, intelligent young man who finished first in the country's examinations and has since gone on to carve out a successful medical career in the United States.

But when Rakesh returns home to India, cracks in the father-son relationship begin to emerge. The main bone of contention seems to be that Rakesh has stopped behaving toward his father like a devoted son and started behaving like a doctor instead.

Rakesh only has his father's best interests at heart, but Varma isn't used to being told what to do by his son, even if it's for his own good. Varma feels patronized by Rakesh's constant injunctions to eat the right food; he feels, for the first time in his life, that he's no longer in control of his own body, let alone lord and master of his house.

Overall, one would have to say that Varma is being unreasonable and that his stubbornness is the main contributing factor in the breakdown of his relationship with Rakesh. At the same time, Rakesh could perhaps be a little more sensitive to his father's needs. After all, the old man has only recently lost his wife, and with illness now a part of his daily life, he needs to be handled with care. Unfortunately, Rakesh lacks the ability to do this, and with Varma still unwilling to back down, tensions continue to mount between him and his father.