Review: Director Sai Rajesh shows a love story in Baby, the likes of which haven’t been seen in Telugu cinema for a while now. The film is a mishmash of ideas, some of which are good, some problematic, some of which not fully actualised and some which are shown so subtly, you wonder if your takeaway from it is right.
Vaishnavi (Vaishnavi Chaitanya) is a bubbly young girl who only has eyes for Anand (Anand Deverakonda). It doesn’t matter why she loves him when her eyes sparkle at the very sight of him. Anand soon reciprocates the feeling; he even takes her consent for it. While Vaishnavi passes school and joins an upscale college that takes her away from their simple life in the basti, Anand takes up driving an auto to make ends meet. A new life, friends, and a boy Viraj (Viraj Ashwin) wait for Vaishnavi at this juncture of her life. But what happens that threatens to tear these lovers apart?
On one hand Baby feels like a tale that any insecure man who doesn’t like change and has a saviour syndrome can cling to as it validates his feelings. On the other, it feels like a tale that shows a mirror to society that is so quick to judge women who try, sometimes desperately, to find happiness whenever and wherever they can. The scenes in the film oscillate between these two, making one wonder if Sai Rajesh got too carried away with staying non-judgemental and wanting to satisfy every kind of audience member this film could be targeted to. But when he does focus, the pathos-laden drama is quite solid.
Take the lead characters for example. Vaishnavi is shown as the kind of woman who will dress down someone who takes her for granted. But she also seems too naïve to be true, with some of the choices she eventually makes remaining unconvincing. Anand is the kind of man who’s great at reading his girlfriend’s verbal and non-verbal cues, ensuring he doesn’t cross boundaries. But he also crosses the line quite easily in a fit of rage. Viraj is the rich boy who needed to be fleshed out better and whose motivations aren’t always clear. While all this makes the characters deliciously grey, the film also suffers from giving in to problematic tropes when it comes to both genders. And at some point, Tollywood needs to do away with toxic ideas of how heart break can be dealt with.
What works for the film is the performances and the music by Vijay Bulganin. Every time the lead performers swoon, experience sadness or are caught in an emotion that cannot be described in words, Vijay is on cue with the actors on-screen to help you experience it. The songs too don’t feel like a hinderance. Anand Deverakonda and Viraj Ashwin pour their heart and souls into the roles. Anand, in particular, has some scenes where he truly grasps you with his performance. But this film wouldn’t be the same without Vaishnavi, who makes a stellar silver screen debut. And despite the flaws, Sai Rajesh excels at writing scenes that keep you engaged. He even manages to keep things unpredictable for the most part.
Baby might leave you with mixed feelings, but it’s also the kind of film that’ll incite conversations – for better or worse. And maybe that’s the point of it all!
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