Baby Movie Review

Anand Deverakonda, the younger brother of Vijay Deverakonda, returns with Baby where he collaborated with Colour Photo writer-producer Sai Razesh. Anand isn’t successful yet like his brother. So, Anand is in search of success and cementing his position. Baby looks promising for him. Thanks to its musical-hit songs and good round of promotions, the film garnered good buzz. Will Anand and the makers succeed with Baby? Let’s find out.

Plot:

Hailing from the same basti, Anand and Vaishnavi are childhood sweethearts who go to the same school. Vaishnavi loves Anand madly and he too falls for her. After school, Anand becomes an auto-driver and Vaishnavi joins engineering college where she enters a new world. She gets new friends and she meets a good-looking rich guy named Viraj. What happens when situations create a gap between Anand and Vaishnavi? The rest of the story is how Vaishnavi deals with Anand and Viraj.

Performances

Anand Deverakonda is alright as the protagonist who loves his girl unconditionally. His character goes through a lot of emotions. There are moments where Anand reminds us of brother Vijay Deverakonda, particularly the dialogue, ‘Na Pilla Bey’ which became popular with Vijay’s Arjun Reddy. Anand is still evolving as an actor.

Vaishnavi Chaitanya is the show-stealer. She carries off the film single-handedly from the start to end. As a Basti girl and as a modern girl, Vaishnavi shows she’s the best of both the worlds. She is a perfect cast for the role and she won the hearts. Kudos to the makers for their gutsy decision to rope in her for the role.

Viraj Ashwin is decent. His character lacks consistency. It is also not clear what exactly he wants and whether he loves Vaishnavi sincerely or not. Naga Babu’s role has no significance in the first beginning, but as the film progresses, his character gains weight in the story. Anand’s bonding with his own mother was irritating initially, whereas it tries to stir emotion towards the end. All the friends of the lead actors do a decent performance. Viva Harsha’s role has importance as the character reveals a crucial twist of the film.

Technicalities

On the surface, Baby has a very thin point. This becomes challenging in writing and narrating. Story requires more depth which is lacking. Yet, director Sai Rajesh scored points with his craft. Visuals and music make the film appeal. Music composer Vijay Bulganin is the winner as he delivered nice songs and a compelling background score. Two songs in the film are good. The film has slow narration. Editing is fine, but the film needed more crispness.

Thumbs Up

Vaishnavi
Contemporary Concept
Songs & Background Score

Thumbs Down

Thin Story
Slow-paced Narration
Improper Message

Analysis

Baby is all about Vaishnavi and her life involving two guys – one childhood lover Anand and other college friend Viraj. How Vaishnavi tackles both forms the crux of the story. The film begins by showing Anand devastated and seen in a regretful mood. This raises curiosity and the story quickly takes us into the past. Director doesn’t waste much time in taking audiences into the story. The mood is set right and all the characters are well-established. The film just revolves around the lead characters. The scenes of phone, gifts and shopping, pub scenes connect to youth. The film is aimed for college-goers and youth who connect to the film. There are scenes which many guys relate to. The references about Pawan Kalyan, Trivikram Srinivas bring cheers to fans.

The success of Baby lies with the choosing Vaishnavi as the film’s heroine. It is her show completely. How she slipped into situations and how she tries her best to cover-up her mistakes but ends up making bigger mistakes that make for an engaging watch. The makers choose the topic that is very much relevant to the present generation and relatable to youths.

Vaishnavi is portrayed as a smart girl who doesn’t pay heed to parents or her love Anand. But she falls prey to a college ‘friend’ Sita who misguides her. This portion is alright. The transformation of Vaishnavi isn’t completely convincing. She puffs hookah, cigarette, gulps alcohol shots without much hesitation. Here the director tells us that Vaishnavi, a basti girl, attempts to change the way she looks and is perceived by others around her. This sets the tone for the film. The first half is engaging.

There are cuss words liberally used. Whilst these cuss words are muted, censored in India, they are used as it is in the US and overseas content. The latter-half has bold content as well. Director Sai Rajesh has handled some scenes with a lot of maturity which is laudable. But some scenes are dragged beyond the point.

Baby has a core problem. Writer-director Sai Rajesh tries to strike a fine balance. He tries to portray that everyone is good, but it is just situations that make one change and transform resulting in cheating. He tries to justify the wrongdoings too. But he fails to create enough sympathy or hatred for the principal characters. Unlike Arjun Reddy or 7/G Brindavan Colony or RX 100, Baby doesn’t hit hard or convey straight to the point. In fact, it just oscillates and beats around the bush.

The film deals with the new-age concept of a girl falling for attractions and end-up cheating an honest lover.

During an important scene, Vaishnavi wears Anand’s saree on his birthday and goes in his auto. The writing here is superior. In another scene in auto in the pre-climax where all the three lead characters encounter one another. This is well conceived. The climax is dragged and stretched beyond a point. And the end may not be convincing for many. The message of the film is not clear.

There is enough scope for humour. But the director stays true to the honesty. It has an intense love story. The film goes on at a serious tempo at max, till the end. To sum up, Baby is ambitious and as an idea it was good. Whereas, it suffers in its narration. The first half works and the second-half has bold moments. It manages to hold interest as it progresses. The film neither leaves you completely satisfied nor it disappoints. It just strikes midway between both.

Despite all its shortcomings, the film caters to youth with relevant scenes. Thanks to good buzz owing to hit songs and promotions, Baby got a good opening. We have to see how the movie is received in the coming days.

Verdict: Bold Baby!

Rating: 2.5/5