Strictly Ordinary: Baby John 2024 Review

The Performances of Baby John

Varun Dhawan, though performs well in parts, has been very loud and goes overboard in most of the scenes which makes it look monotonous. In simple terms, situations that do not need such attitude and style end up getting the same treatment. There is an attempt to replay the same character in the same style that was used by Thalapathy Vijay in Their but the massive popularity of the Tamil film just doesn’t let you accept the swag shown in Baby John. But, he is the only one in the film who has put in all the efforts.

Jackie Shroff has looked deadly in Baby John and he lives up to the expectations. There are scenes where he or rather his character ‘Babbar Sher’ is extremely hurt and his expressions in those scenes will tell you a lot about his presence. He has been a strong opponent but then the scope was limited due to the script.

Keerthy Suresh needs no introduction and is a phenomenal talent which is known to all but here in Baby John she had no scope to shine. In fact, her role comes across as a disappointment because the contribution of the character is minimal and those little moments also have no striking impact.

Wamiqa Gabbi also comes across as a disappointment with no value addition to Baby John. Does a fair job but nothing memorable or extraordinary.

Other actors like Rajpal Yadav, Sheeba Chaddha and Zakir Hussain have their own merits in driving the film but when the script is weak then there is not much that they can do.

Why It Earned 3 Stars ?

The film is a decent affair in totality but let’s discuss the things that work. A large credit goes to Salman Khan’s cameo, though it is not as crazy as the one in Pathaan or as a Singham in Sooryavanshi but because most portions in Baby John are dull, this one stands out. And the film has enjoyed the Atlee branding but it’s just the cameo sequence where Atlee has given his inputs and that is visible. The background score is solid and creates impactful moments though there were serious issues with the sound mixing and the sound design. The overall experience of watching the film is good due to the commercial elements and packed theatres during Christmas. The music of the film has not been very popular but few songs are enjoyable and fun to watch. Varun Dhawan has put in a lot of effort in the film and that’s visible. The heroic title card is very cool and I hope that Bollywood films keep doing it often. We had title cards for Animal (Ranbir Kapoor) and Jawan (Shah Rukh Khan) and the social media keeps talking about it even now. The first half is decent and so is the second half but the second half has fast pacing, razor sharp fight sequences etc. The pre-interval portion was done well and the emotions come out well. Also the experience would have been a bit more enjoyable if I never saw Theri. “Mere jaise kai aayein but main pehli baar aaya”, “Haath laga meri beti ko” these would have added a lot more impact if I didn’t know about what’s gonna happen next. My instant Baby John movie Twitter review is available here.

The Negatives – Unfulfilled Potential

The whole idea of remaking an extremely popular film is the biggest minus. The film Theri has been on Television and is among the most viewed films on YouTube where streaming is free. That means everyone knows what’s going to happen. The film is targeting the mass circuits but the audience there has already seen Theri. Varun Dhawan has tried the Theri style but that goes well with Thalapathy Vijay only because that swag is his patented stuff. The scenes are monotonous and there is nothing new. Plain, ordinary and simple drama. If the BGM or the cameo was not there, ratings would have dropped further. The female leads add no value and disappoint hugely. And the songs are not very popular. This is one factor.

Baby John Box Office Opening Note

Baby John had dull advances overseas. UK showed some movement due to the the XMAS period while UAE, Australia, Germany and other markets remained below par. This is also due to Wednesday release. Overseas numbers could go up depending on spot bookings are walk ups. In India, again a below par start as the film was tracking for Rs 20 crore + initial opening before but it dropped by 60% post the Baby John Trailer that was not well received. The dent is huge as Pushpa 2 The Rule continues to dominate the Hindi mass belts, where people have already seen Theri. The metroes got impacted by Mufasa the Lion King but on the whole, the word of mouth seems to be mixed which has severely impacted its opening. Currently the film is tracking towards a double digit start in Nett terms on a national holiday.

Stay Tuned to Inside Box Office for Box Office updates on Baby John.