Baby Review - Gripping Thriller



Actors: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Rana Daggupati, Danny Denzongpa, Taapsee Pannu
Story: Neeraj Pandey
Director: Neeraj Pandey

Bollywood director Neeraj Pandey's new film Baby is probably the best action thriller to come out of India.

Featuring aging Bollywood hero Akshay Kumar in the lead role, Baby tackles the subject of terrorism with great sophistication.

India, like many other nations, has suffered immensely in recent years because of several violent attacks on its soil.

So it's nice to see the subject get a slick treatment on the big screen.

Action Galore

The joy of Baby comes primarily from the rippling good story penned by director Neeraj Pandey.

As Alfred Hitchcock famously said, "To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script."

And Neeraj Pandey has taken that advice to heart in writing a highly engaging, tight script shorn of the tawdry elements common to Most Indian films.

Akshay Kumar is Ajay, leader of a top-secret anti-terrorist outfit set up after the devastating Pakistan sponsored attacks on Mumbai on November 26, 2008.

The mission of the elite team named Baby is to capture or wipe out terrorists planning strikes against India.

Ajay's mission takes him and his team to Turkey, Nepal, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai and New Delhi where they arrest, kidnap and kill terrorists plotting violence against India.

Baby begins in Istanbul (Turkey) where Ajay's colleague Rakesh is being brutally tortured by a gang of terrorists that includes Jamaal, a rogue member of the Baby team.

Although Ajay fails to save Rakesh, the Istanbul operation sets the stage for tension-filled odyssey that takes viewers through the crowded streets and chawls of Mumbai to the deserts of the Middle East and the high altitude terrorist training camps in Nepal.

How Ajay and his team thwart the terrorists and capture the kingpins constitutes the rest of this well-made film.

The photography is extremely well-done. Generous use of wide-angle photography lends a panoramic, larger-than-life feel to both the individual scenes and the big picture subject.

Baby Rating

It's unusual to see a Hindi film address the subject of terrorism with elan and finesse like Neeraj Pandey does in Baby.

After delivering a string of duds in recent years, Akshay Kumar is in solid form in Baby. No can deny that Akshay has regained his mojo with Baby.

Kay Kay Menon (as the terrorist Bilal Khan), Danny Denzongpa (as Ajay's boss Feroze), Taapsee Pannu as Ajay's colleague, Anupam Kher and Rana Daggupatti excel in supporting roles.

My sole complaint with Baby were that the family scenes of Ajay with wife and children were gratuitous.

While I wouldn't go as far as to call it swoonworthy fare, Baby is definitely a gripping thriller.

I greatly enjoyed Neeraj Pandey's 2008 film A Wednesday but I'd rate Baby a notch higher in the overall entertainment quotient.

Baby is a highly gripping action thriller that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't miss this movie.