Home ReviewsBollywood Movie Reviews Baby John REVIEW: Varun Dhawan and Jackie Shroff win hearts with stellar and nuanced performances in the film

Baby John REVIEW: Varun Dhawan and Jackie Shroff win hearts with stellar and nuanced performances in the film

After an agonizing wait, Hindi cinema lovers and fans finally saw the much-awaited Hindi action-cop-thriller family-themed drama film Baby John in theatres. The film boasts an ensemble cast with Varun Dhawan, Jackie Shroff, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi in pivotal roles.

by Vrinda Mundara
Varun Dhawan

The makers created a lot of anticipation and curiosity with engaging character-look posters and a unique foot-tapping musical album, with hit songs like Nain Matakka, Pikley Pom, Bandobast, and more, which perfectly struck the right note with Hindi music lovers.

Amid the heightened anticipation, Baby John has finally been released in the theatres today. The film, helmed by ace filmmaker Kalees, stars Varun Dhawan, Jackie Shroff, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi in lead roles.

Acclaimed actor Varun Dhawan’s transformation in B-town from being a commercial global star to a versatile performer

About Baby John film’s summary:

For those unaware, Baby John is a Hindi re-adaptation of the cult Tamil hit film Theri (2016) that starred Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay in a leading role. It is a multilayered and riveting drama film that is relevant and carries a strong social message. The film follows a brave-heart and fearless DCP Satya Verma (Varun Dhawan), who believes in non-violence but is a daring police officer in Mumbai. But, his happy family life with his mom turns into a dangerous mess when he crosses paths with the menacing and brutal goon named Nanaji (Jackie Shroff).

Later on, we see that a recurring sequence of tragic events that happen in Satya’s life as a police officer in Mumbai compel him to become a dangerous rebellious man named Baby John D’silva, a bakery owner in Kerala who is a doting father to his daughter Khushi. However, his calm life as a normal man named John D’silva in Kerala is upended into a devastating mess again when Nanaji gets released from jail. Sometime later, Nanaji provokes John to have a face-off with him. Will this meticulously planned face-off with Nanaji be the starting point of a series of unfortunate events and emotional upheavals in John’s life within the second half?

About the cast’s outstanding performances:

What stands out for audiences and critics in the second half is Varun Dhawan’s seamlessly finesse-filled and stellar performance as both the multilayered characters of Satya Verma and Baby John D’silva throughout the remainder of the film post-interval. Satya’s cover is Baby John D’silva, who, on the upper surface, is a bakery owner in Kerala and is a devoted father to his and his late wife Meera’s (Keerthy Suresh) daughter Khushi. But, on the flip side, he is secretly gathering a lot of evidence to destroy Nanaji slowly and steadily.

Varun Dhawan gets into the skin of Satya Verma and John D’silva by bringing to the big screens an outstanding performance with the right amount of boldness, emotions, vulnerability, and humor. He proves his mettle as a multilayered and versatile performer who can play these clutter-breaking characters. His in-sync and high-energy dance performance in chart-topping numbers Nain Matakka and Bandobast is remarkable.

Also, a special mention here to the national award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh’s impressive performance in her big Hindi debut film as Doctor Meera, the lady love of DCP Satya Verma and later his wife, was a show-stealer moment. Her immersive and engaging portrayal featured the right balance of intense emotions with nuanced expressions and ace dialogue delivery, adding more oomph to her impactful acting performance.

Moreover, the surprising element in the film was Wamiqa Gabbi’s sweet teacher cover of Tara changing into the brave and lionhearted police officer Adhira in the second half, who is an undercover agent like Satya and joins Satya in his mission to end Nanaji’s reign of terror.

Directorial aspects of Baby John:

Direction-wise, there are many blood-curdling scenes and high-octane action sequences between Satya Verma and Nanaji, the vile goons of Nanaji and Satya’s showdown in the second half is the moment when you finally feel the pure intensity of different emotions inside out. Interestingly, all these scenes and frame-by-frame shots are shot and directed with finesse and perfection by ace South filmmaker Kalees, especially after Nanaji realizes that Satya Verma is alive and not dead.

That whole chunk of Nanaji hatching a life-threatening conspiracy to trap Satya Verma to come out of his cover as John to face him by abducting Satya’s daughter Khushi and countless young girls, also including IPS officer Adhira Verman / Tara (Wamiqa Gabbi) to sell off in young girls’ sex trafficking racket gives goosebumps and chills throughout.

Moreover, Satya’s worry and love for his daughter Khushi and the countless young girls are visible. Initially, Satya helplessly begs Nanaji to leave his daughter Khushi out of this mess. But Nanaji laughs and gets Satya beaten up and injured. Later on, we see the original deadly and dare-devil avatar of Satya Verma, who is on a mission to save his daughter Khushi and other young girls. He fights tooth and nail. That entire portion makes you feel the distinctive difference between the pre-interval story and the post-interval gripping screenplay.

Positives:

The high-octane and exceptionally shot major chunk of dramatic action sequences in the second half between Satya Verma and Nanaji, the mind-blowing and prolific performances by Varun Dhawan as daring and bold Satya Verma / Baby John D’silva, Jackie Shroff as menacing Nanaji, Keerthy Suresh as docile and multilayered Dr. Meera, Wamiqa Gabbi initially as the compassionate school teacher Tara and in the second half as the fearless Police Officer Adhira, Varun Dhawan’s daughter Khushi (Baby Zoya)’s versatile performance in the entire film especially her range of immersive expressions in the poignant scenes between her father Satya and herself is a visually delightful treat to watch and only adds more enjoyable charm to the entire film. The casting selection by Kalees, Atlee, Murad Khetani, and Priya Atlee for Baby John is apt and tailor-made. However, Jackie Shroff’s sinister and menacing avatar as Nanaji the villain was the biggest highlight of the entire film.

Negatives:

The film tries to be true to its promise of being very different from the original cult Tamil film Theri but ends up being very predictable in the first half. Also, the film’s screenplay has some visible flaws for instance how can Satya Verma quickly transform himself into John D’silva, a baker residing in Kerala? How can Satya alter into a deadly one-man army and unstoppable force mode in broad daylight without making it obvious in front of Nanaji’s minions and corrupt police officers in the second half? How can Tara be a sweet school teacher while hiding her reality of being a trained police officer Adhira?

Overall, the screenplay and dialogue are impactful in some places but not entirely and it could’ve been more satisfactory. Some dialogues give the impression of being very moralistic and botched. For instance, in a fight scene in the climax with Nanaji towards the second half, Satya Verma (Varun Dhawan) says to Nanaji (Jackie Shroff), “Mere jaise to kayi aaye hai, But mein pehle aaya hu.” The placement of this dialogue looks very misplaced and preachy which could have been avoided and as a result, it does not elicit much of an impact on audiences in theatres.

Varun Dhawan talks about how the subject of the film is very ‘spine-chilling’ at ‘Baby John’ meet and greet

Baby John rating: 4 stars:

Baby John is a decent and entertaining family-themed Hindi action-cop-thriller drama film that delivers a strong message about the difference between good kind of parenting and bad parenting. Overall, the film blends the elements of action, thrill, drama, emotional turmoil, romance, sweet father-daughter bond, mother-son love dynamics, and a mind-numbing subject matter of young girls’ sexual trafficking racket and their rape in India. It presents a well-made storyline with all key elements that unfortunately does not intrigue much curiosity. Despite the loopholes and discrepancies, the film still makes it known as a pleasing one-time watch.

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