.png "Home")
MUMBAI: Atlee is known for his out-and-out masala, commercial potboilers, brimming with equal doses of action, humor, emotion, drama, and larger-than-life moments, most of which don't only turn out to be blockbusters, but also sand the test of time across demographics. The Hindi-movie audience became familiar with his work courtesy Jawan, but the Tamil audience has been embracing him with open arms since some time back with Mersal, Bigil, and Theri, which incidentally, is a remake of Baby John, his latest offering, starring Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jackie Shroff, and Rajpal Yadav, which he doesn't direct this time, but produces for Kalees. But you'd be forgiven to call it his work again as it has all the ingredients that we've come to love about the man.
The way the past and present of our eponymous character's life have been weaved together with emotion and copious drama, how the villains get commented across both his timelines, and especially, how Jackie Shroff affects both his past and present will keep you hooked to your seat. Throw in more than a fair share of whistle-worthy, action scenes and mass moments, replete with Varun Dhawan's swag, excelling in his first out-and-out mass outing by bringing his own flavor to a role made famous by Thalapathy Vijay, and you've got all the bang for the buck you need.
Cue the able support provided by Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jackie Shroff, and Rajpal Yadav, plus some pulsating music and background score Thaman S to go with neat production values, and you've got the right package for a paisa vasool family outing in the theater this Christmas.
However, and there's a big “however” here: If you've watched Theri, then you may not appreciate Baby John as much as it's a frame-to-frame remake — not a scene or moment out of place. Only a slight alteration has been applied to Wamiqa Gabbi's character to make her a part of Salman Khan's cameo (which doesn't work as well), and that, too, sees forced. The usually efficacious Ruben's editing is also surprisingly a bit of letdown.
That being said, Baby John makes for a great big-screen holiday outing if you haven't seen Theri, and still a decent one-time watch for those who have. Go with your family and friends and have a blast.
3.5/5 stars
Add new comment