Director Kaless and producer Atlee retain the soul of ‘Theri’ while adding some new spices like the angle of human trafficking however the film suffers from a remake fatigue and the highly amplified back ground score.
Main Cast:Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jackie Shroff
Director: Kalees
Producer: Murad Khetani
Music Director: S Thaman
Cinematography: Kiran Koushik
Rating: 2.5/5
The 2016 movie Theri marked the maiden collaboration of Vijay Thalapathy and Atlee, after the grand success of Theri the duo collaborated on two more successful movies Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019).
Theri had an often repeated story of a cop going underground for personal reasons and later forced to come out of a temporary exile creating havoc. The wafer-thin plot was elevated by Vijay Thalapathy’s charisma particularly his act of a caring father, what also helped the movie was Atlee’s ability to pack the commercial elements in the right proportion.
Coming to the latest release, there is a huge gap of eight years between Baby John and its source material, leading to a certain sense of datedness that Baby John carries.
Synopsis
Much like the original this one is also filled with major melodrama and is crammed with many social issues. As a Varun Dhawan star vehicle, Baby John is a treat for his fans but for those who have seen numerous South commercial entertainers, there is little to take back.
Varun Dhawan in ‘Baby John. (X)
For those who haven’t seen Theri,Baby John focuses on John/ACP Satya Verma (Varun Dhawan). In the beginning portions, John is seen leading a normal life with the daughter Khushi (a very endearing Zara Zyanna).
Wamiqa Gabbi plays a school teacher Tara. There is a hint of a budding love story between John and Tara but John comes with a certain past which his daughter isn’t aware of.
In the flashback, we come to know about his identity as a fearless cop ACP Satya Verma a terror for his enemies. Satya Verma’s path crosses with that of Jackie Shroff’s Babbar Sher. Due to certain incidents, Babbar Sher becomes Satya’s nemesis leading to the tragic death of both his mother and wife (Sheeba Chaddha and Keerty Suresh in her Hindi debut).
Another important character is the head constable Ram Savek (a terrific Rajpal Yadav).
Performances
‘Baby John’ is an action entertainer.
As already mentioned Baby John is mostly a star vehicle for Varun Dhawan and he does keep the movie afloat even when proceedings start to crumble. He gets the cocky attitude spot on leading to some entertaining moments. His face-off with Jackie Shroff has the right masala thunder.
At the same time, his act of a caring father is also touching. The scenes with the child actor Zara Zyanna are fun to watch.
Rajpal Yadav as Ram Savek in a refreshingly non-comic role is a delight to watch too. He brings in an emotional resonance as John/Satya Verma’s trusted aid. He also gets the movie’s biggest highlight when a goon mocks him for being a comedian, to which he replies “Comedy is serious business” leading to a mass-ey sequence.
Wamiqa Gabbi thankfully has more to do than Amy Jackson from the original. There is a subplot of her being an undercover cop leading to an interesting dynamic. Wamiqa too gets her fair share of action which the actress pulls off competently.
Lastly, Jackie Shroff also deserves a mention for his intimidating portrayal. He makes for a formidable villain with his chilling presence.
Thaman’s background music is both loud and repetitive. However, the songs are fairly good like “Haazar Baar” and “Nain Matakka.”
Flaws
Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh in ‘Baby John’. (X)
A major problem with Baby John is the unnecessary angle of human trafficking. Director Kaless doesn’t bring anything new to the table; this addition is only there to make ACP Satya Verma more heroic. Also, the movie’s southern flavour particularly the melodramatic scenes gets on the audience’s nerves.
The movie’s running time of 2 hours and 41 minutes also tests the viewer’s patience with some unnecessary additions. Apart from the human trafficking angle even Salman Khan’s extended cameo feels forced.
The love story between Keerty Suresh and Varun is also underexplored. The chemistry between the two just doesn’t add up, unlike Theri.
Keerty Suresh looks stunning but doesn’t have much to do apart from being a devoted housewife.
Final take
To sum it up Baby John ends up as a Christmas dampener, it is strictly for those who enjoy South-styled larger-than-life heroes and Varun Dhawan fans.
(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)
The details presented in the documentary often come across as curated, still Amit Krishnan does a fine job in exploring her rise to the top while breaking barriers along the way. What comes out strikingly through the documentary is Nayanthara’s mental strength in dealing with heavy trolling, letting the work do the talking
The number of female actresses who have done glamorous roles and have also created a strong image for themselves breaking the usual stereotypes aren’t many in number. Lady superstar Nayanthara is an exception. She has acted with many big heroes like Rajnikanth, Ajith and co but at the same time the actress has broken barriers with strong female centric films. Her market base is as strong as any big male actor. She has earned the tag of a female superstar. Even in big commercial movies like Viswasam Nayanthara’s character comes across as a strong woman.
Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy tale has been in the making for a long period finally releasing on Netflix. This 1 hour and 20 minutes documentary begins with event managers discussing with Nayanthara and Vignesh about the numerous options for their wedding venue. This includes the possibility of Tirupati. From here we go to a flashback of Nayanthara talking about her journey of 18+years. There are also Nagarjuna, Rana, Atlee etc. discussing her qualities.
The beginning portions of ‘Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy tale’ feel a bit flimsy. There is something off with the staging particularly the scenes of the event managers discussing the possible avenues of marriage. But soon the show finds its groove where the narrative shifts to her journey in showbiz.
A particular mention must be made of the part where Nayanthara talks about Ghajini. She reads out a particular sentence from the review of the movie. “An annoying and overweight, whose rolls of fat appear to be doing a Mexican wave across her waist in a song sequence. Ouch!” There is a palpable pain in the way Nayanthara talks about being body shamed and how it affected her mentally.
Right after this part the focus shifts to the bikini scene and her bold avatar in Ajith’s Billa. Director Vishnu Vardhan talks about how Nayanthara built a strong image for herself through this role. Another portion worth mentioning here is the part where Bhardwaj Rangan talks about Nayanthara’s role in the thriller/comedy Kolamaavu Kokila. Again, the importance of this role in breaking the general barriers associated with women characters and Nayanthara’s breakthrough performance makes it one of the best segments in the documentary.
Apart from the likes of Nagarjuna, Rana, Atlee and co you also have Radhika Sarathkumar, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Tammanna Bhatia etc. speaking about the relevancy of Nayanthara in breaking the notions of how a female actor’s star status is always linked to a male actor. The following statement of Parvathy Thiruvothu deserves a particular mention. Nayanthara made moves to assert herself in the movie industry at a time when “being a powerful woman was akin to witchcraft”.
The documentary would have had a larger impact if it had focused somewhat more on the ups and downs of her professional journey. Her love story with Vignesh Shivan is beautifully narrated but somewhat dominates the professional journey which the documentary needed to have more.
As already mentioned, ‘Nayanthara Beyond the Fairy Tale’ feels heavily curated on what information to give and what to hide. As a result, it lacks a wholesome quality which an actress of Nayanthara’s stature deserved.
A rundown into some of the Telugu and Tamil directors who have successfully presented Bollywood actors in a different light and gave major hits
As the wave of pan India has caught in a huge way, the crossover between Hindi film actors and South Indian directors, particularly those belonging to Telugu and Tamil cinema (also known as Tollywood and Kollywood) has resulted in some successful collaborations. One of the earlier examples is Aamir Khan’s Ghajini (2008). Director AR Murugadoss made a significant impact with this Tamil remake.
Ghajini
Ghajini opened the 100-crore club in Bollywood; it was a major money spinner in those times. For Aamir Khan Ghajini was altogether a different film from what he was doing till then, it presented him in a massy avatar. In spite of the obvious comparisons to Suriya’s stellar acting, Aamir also left his own imprint particularly the physical part of it. He looked like a wounded tiger out on an avenging spree.
In spite of the obvious comparisons to Suriya’s stellar acting Aamir also left his own imprint particularly the physical part of it.
Kabir Singh
Before Kabir Singh, again a remake of a south (Telugu) movie Arjun Singh, Shahid Kapoor did not have a major solo hit. The likes of Jab We Met, Udta Punjab and Haider were hit movies no doubt but not commercial blockbusters. Though Padmaavat did more than 300 crores Ranveer Singh walked away with all the accolades and rightly so. But Sandeep Reddy Vanga gave Shahid a big spectrum to play with in Kabir Singh and the actor didn’t disappoint. Whether it is portraying the highly toxic and passionate love of Kabir or in the breakdown scenes Shahid did his best. Although the movie was pretty much a carbon copy of the original Shahid brought his own intensity to the role. Much like Ghajini this remake also did far bigger numbers than the original. It is a separate matter that Shahid could not capitalize on this blockbuster success later in his career.
Kabir Singh gave Shahid Kapoor a big spectrum to play with and the actor didn’t disappoint
Jawan
It is a well-known fact that Shah Rukh Khan was going through a very rough patch both professionally and personally before the release of Siddarth Anand’s Pathaan and Atlee’s Jawan. For Atlee Jawan was a huge leap given that he had mostly collaborated with Vijay Thalapathy till then. For someone like him directing a megastar like Shah Rukh Khan is not a piece of cake.
But Atlee more than rose up to the challenge, he passed with flying colours. Atlee’s presentation of SRK particularly the father character of Vikram Rathore erupted huge cheers among the moviegoers. Shah Rukh also effortlessly slipped into the universe of Atlee having a lot of fun in a movie that has essentially 50 shades of SRK.
For SRK too it was a very profitable film both in terms of expanding his fan base and box office numbers. It was almost like a king size comeback with more than 700 crores.
Shah Rukh Khan also effortlessly slipped into the universe of Atlee
Animal
Animal directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga is easily the most polarizing movie of Ranbir’s career, more than even Sanju. Ranbir’s previous movies have also featured strained father and son relationships, but Animal took it to a whole new level. Animal showcased Ranbir in his darkest avatar till date, as Ranbir himself confessed that he was scared when he heard the script and had severe doubts about doing the role. However, to Ranbir’s credit he went full throttle and delivered a power packed performance though the story itself was highly controversial.
Ranbir Kapoor’s darkest avatar till date
Kalki
Lastly there is this year’s Kalki directed by Nag Ashwin, a Telugu language epic science fiction film. The last few outings of Amitabh Bachchan have varied from just average to good. While he had solid roles in Jhund and Uunchai, in Bramhastra and Ganapath he didn’t have much to do. He was particularly wasted in Bramhastra as just a mere guru. But his fans and neutral audiences got the opportunity to see vintage Amitabh Bachchan with Kalki 2989 AD.
Bachchan had the best written role by a long margin and the senior actor just chewed the scenery with a stellar performance. The way he takes on the character of Prabhas was a sheer delight to watch. On many occasions he overshadowed the other cast members with just his towering screen presence. With his performance of Ashwatthama Bachchan showed that he can give any young actor a run for their money even at the age of 81.
For someone like Nag Ashwin too handling a film of this scale and directing someone like Amitabh Bachchan is a major achievement.
The fans and neutral audiences got the opportunity to see vintage Amitabh Bachchan in Kalki 2989 AD
Not so lucky ones
At the same time, it has to be said that working with south directors or in remakes of south films hasn’t proved to be so lucky for other Bollywood actors. Case in point is Akshay Kumar’s Sarfira, a remake of the Tamil hit Soorarai Pottru directed by Sudha Kongara. She also helmed the remake. Soorarai Pottru got both rave reviews and major awards. Suriya got the best actor award in the prestigious national awards; the movie also won an award for best film. Later Soorarai Pottru was also dubbed into Hindi with the name of Uddan. Hence it makes no business sense to remake it and not surprisingly Sarfira got added to the long list of commercial failures of Akshay post pandemic. Before Sarfira there was Bachchan Pandey, a remake of Jigarthanda. That was also a major commercial failure. Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s Vikram Vedha also turned out to be a box office turkey. Though Hrithik Roshan got good reviews for bringing his own touch to the role of Vedha, but it wasn’t enough for the movie to sail through.
An overview of South Indian filmmakers who tried their luck in Hindi cinema with varying degrees of success.
In the last few years, more South Indian film directors have been working with Bollywood stars. We have seen Prabhudeva directing the likes of Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar and Atlee directing the Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan in the recent blockbuster hit Jawan.
Not that this trend didn’t exist earlier; both Bapu and K Viswanath had directed nine films each in the 1980s and 1990s. Filmmaker K Viswanath remade his own classic Swathi Muthyam (1986) as Eeshwar (1989) with Anil Kapoor.
K Raghavendra Rao also directed quite a few Hindi films — all were remakes of his Telugu movies. He debuted in Bollywood with Nishana (1980) starring Jeetendra and Poonam Dhillon. It was a remake of the Telugu movie Vetagadu (1979).
However, Jeetender-Sridevi’s Himmatwala (1983) helped Rao make a mark for himself in Hindi cinema. It, again, was a remake of the Telugu flick Ooriki Monagadu (1981).
Raghavendra Rao followed it up with films like Tohfa (1984), Masterji (1985), Suhaagan (1986), and Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa (2001), to mention a few.
In the later years, Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma carved their niche in Bollywood.
Following are some prominent South Indian film directors who went North starting from recent times to slightly old:
Atlee
Atlee has established his credibility as a successful commercial director in a short period. His stories always have shades of other films, particularly the hangover of Shankar’s films.
But Atlee has mastered the art of mixing all the elements in the right proportion with strong political and social touches. A good example of this is his Hindi debut Jawan starring Shah Rukh Khan which has already become a bigger blockbuster than Pathaan (2023).
Shah Rukh has done mass films in the past too. But Atlee’s presentation of the actor is something that’s never seen before.
What also makes Jawan such a monstrous hit is the rousing manner in which Atlee dealt with several problems plaguing our society. The director’s conviction is such that the viewers don’t mind the not-so-subtle treatment.
Not surprisingly, Atlee has become a hot-shot director with whom many actors would want to work. There are already rumours of Atlee doing a film with the National Award winner Allu Arjun.
Prabhudeva
Before foraying into Hindi Cinema Prabhudeva directed two Telugu films — Siddharth-Trisha’s Nuvvostante Nenoddantana (2005) and Prabhas-Trisha’s Pournami (2006). The first one did well at the box office and the second one got critical acclaim.
Prabhudeva
Before foraying into Hindi Cinema Prabhudeva directed two Telugu films — Siddharth-Trisha’s Nuvvostante Nenoddantana (2005) and Prabhas-Trisha’s Pournami (2006). The first one did well at the box office and the second one got critical acclaim.
In 2012, Prabhudeva teamed up with Akshay Kumar for Rowdy Rathore, another remake. This time, it was the super-hit Telugu Film Vikramarkudu (2006) featuring Ravi Teja in a dual role. Rowdy Rathore went on to gross more than that of Wanted.
Post-Rowdy Rathore, Prabhudeva delivered movies that have largely missed the mark. The likes of R… Rajkumar (2013) were moderate successes, but his style of loud filmmaking has gone past its expiry date.
AR Murugadoss
AR Murugadoss is one of those filmmakers who want to entertain and enlighten.
Suriya-starrer Ghajini (Tamil, 2008) is a significant film in his career. Compared to his other works, Ghajini is cut from a different cloth as there is nothing political about it. It is a revenge drama revolving around a protagonist who suffers from a certain kind of amnesia due to a severe head injury.
Murugadoss remade the film in Hindi with the same name and with Aamir Khan as the protagonist. We all know how big a hit it is — more than the original. This was because of his skilful direction and also Aamir Khan’s dedication.
The director’s second Hindi film was also a remake of his own Tamil film Thuppaki (2012).
Akshay Kumar played Vijay Thalapathy’s role in Holiday: A Solider is Never Off Duty (2014). It was also a commercial success, but Thuppaki was more entertaining.
Puskhar-Gayatri
The duo of Puskhar-Gayatri remade their own Tamil film Vikram Vedha (2017) into Hindi in 2022 with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan. What made Vikram Vedha a cut above the usual cop versus gangster drama was the moral ambiguities analysed through the Vikram and Betaal analogy.
A striking aspect of the Hindi remake was the more messy and flamboyant way in which Hrithik Roshan was presented as Vedha. This added a different dimension along with the Lucknow setting.
The Hindi Vikram Vedha wasn’t a box-office success, but Hrithik’s performance was vastly appreciated in terms of how he made Vedha his own.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Sandeep Reddy Vanga has already become a much-talked-about director despite making only two films — Vijay Deverakonda-starrer Arjun Reddy (Telugu, 2017) and its Hindi remake Kabir Singh (2019).
Kabir Singh starring Shahid Kapoor was a huge hit but the uproar was also equally big.
Now, he is making a straight Hindi film Animal with Ranbir Kapoor. There is a lot of curiosity and intrigue about this movie because of the title and also the violent depiction of the protagonist in the earlier one.
Gowtam Tinnanuri
Gowtam Tinnanuri made his Telugu film directorial debut with Malli Raava (2017). But it was Jersey (2019) starring actor Nani that made Gowtam a successful director.
This sports drama won a lot of acclaim along with commercial success. In the year 2021, it won several national awards which include Best Director and Best Actor as well.
Gowtam tried to recreate the same magic with Shahid with a nearly identical storyline except for setting it in Chandigarh.
The Hindi Jersey had some good reviews but suffered on account of the remake fatigue. The Punjabi setting also didn’t add any new dimension to the story.
In short, Shahid Kapoor’s strategy of getting another remake hit bombed badly.
Vishnu Vardhan
Tamil director Vishnu Vardhan made his Hindi debut with Vikram Batra’s biopic Shershaah (2021). He was appreciated for not making the flick overtly jingoistic and showing a certain restraint.
Vishnu Vardhan’s directorial skills particularly come out in the second half when the war drama sets in.
Shershaah had a direct OTT release, but it should have been ideally released in theatres.
Not surprisingly, Siddarth Malhotra got some good reviews for his performance as Vikram Batra.
Now, let’s go to the slightly older ones Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma.
Mani Ratnam
Before the film Dil Se (1998), made directly in Hindi, Mani Ratnam was already a known face in the North, thanks to Roja(1992) and Bombay (1995) dubbed in Hindi.
Dil Se was the third one in the trilogy of Roja and Bombay as this film also had the backdrop of insurgency.
Over the years, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer has acquired a cult of its own thanks to AR Rahman‘s scintillating music coupled with the intense performances of Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala.
After a long gap, Mani Ratnam simultaneously shot Aayutha Ezhutu (2004) in Tamil and Yuva (2004) in Hindi. Yuva was a significant game changer for Abhishek Bachchan before Guru (2007) and Sarkar (2005) happened. In Yuva, Abhishek Bachchan was brilliant as a ruffian with political ambitions.
After Dil Se, Guru was Mani Ratnam’s second straight Hindi film. The film was loosely based on the industrial tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani. It won critical appreciation along with good money. It is easily the most memorable solo outing of Abhishek Bachchan.
However, their next collaboration Raavan (2010) turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions. Despite a solid storyline, the movie turned out to be a cringe-fest both in acting and direction.
Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma scored a sixer with his debut Hindi film Satya (1998), a cult classic. It was the start of many more movies dealing with organised crime and the nexus between politicians and the underworld.
The film focuses on the life of an immigrant Satya (JD Chakravarthy) who visits Mumbai in search of a job. He gets drawn to the underworld by the gangster Bhiku Mhatre (Manoj Bajpai).
Satya gave birth to a lot of new talent, the chief among them being Manoj Bajpai and Saurabh Shukla. Their characters are remembered more than the lead hero.
It was followed by an equally successful Company (2002). The film was loosely based on the fallout between Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan. Vivek Oberoi made a very promising debut as Chandrakant aka Chandu.
In both films, Varma was successful in humanising gangsters instead of painting them as cardboard cuts with no nuances.
He added more feathers to his cap with Sarkar (2005) and Sarkar Raj (2008). In these movies, the director combined Godfather (1972, 1974 & 1990) elements with that of Balasaheb Thackeray. Both the flick had the perfect mix of style and substance.
Ram Gopal Varma also directed the romantic-comedy Rangeela (1995) with Aamir Khan and Urmila.
Romance is the last thing that viewers associate Varma with. But to the director’s credit, he did pull off an enjoyable watch which also was a satire on the film industry.
But in the recent past, the filmmaker has been making one embarrassing movie after another. Sadly, the viewers are now more interested in what controversial remarks he would make rather than his works.
Priyadarshan
There was a period when Priyadarshan was a successful director in Hindi as well. Most of his Hindi films are remakes of his Tamil and Malayalam movies. But the director, more often than not, hit a jackpot.
He debuted in Hindi cinema with Muskurahat, a comedy-drama, which was a remake of his Malayalam film Kilukkam (1991).
Priyardarshan was a major reason behind the emergence of Akshay Kumar as a comic actor. In fact, many of Priyardarshan’s Hindi films featured Akshay Kumar.
The filmmaker delivered many flicks that have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. He delivered a good number of superhits like Gardish (1993), Virasat (1997), Hera Pheri (2000), Hungama (2003), Hulchul (2004), Malamaal Weekly (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Rangrezz (2013).
However, things have been going downhill, of late, with Priyadarshan not being able to reinvent himself. A good example of this is Hungama 2 (2021) which was released on Disney+Hotstar. It opened to negative reviews.
Well, this list is not exhaustive. I am sure many more South Indian film directors have done movies in Hindi earlier too. But Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan is the latest and the most significant film in this trend.
