‘Baby Girl’ movie review: Nivin Pauly-Lijomol Jose starrer fails to work due to dated approach

Fifteen years ago, Malayalam cinema was not successful the pinkish of wellness erstwhile the screenwriting duo of Bobby-Sanjay came up with Traffic, which would springiness a caller consciousness of absorption for the industry. In 2026, erstwhile the aforesaid duo returns with Baby Girl, aft a premix of memorable and forgettable films successful the intervening years, they get immoderate of the elements from their astir palmy movie yet. But then, times person changed and the tastes of the assemblage excessively person evolved, and things that worked backmost successful the time mightiness not enactment now, which is what unluckily happens with Baby Girl’

The film, directed by Arun Varma, revolves astir the happenings connected a time erstwhile a newborn babe goes missing from a hospital. Sanal (Nivin Pauly), an attendant astatine the hospital, besides gets caught successful the drama, erstwhile his suspicions astir the imaginable abductor instantly sets the constabulary connected a hunt. Parallel to this runs the play involving the families of the young parents, who are inactive successful college, and different way of a pistillate who is facing affectional struggles aft having a stillborn baby.

If it was conscionable the template of the communicative that happens successful a time and the aggregate parallel strands that the screenwriters reused from Traffic, the movie mightiness person inactive worked astatine immoderate level. But, what yet brings it down is the treatment, which has ‘dated’ written each implicit it, beryllium it successful the ocular benignant oregon the editing patterns oregon the inheritance score. Filling a bully portion of the runtime are sequences of constabulary cars moving aimlessly successful the metropolis with wireless sets chattering non-stop successful the background, large surface visuals from the power rooms and characters poring implicit CCTV visuals.

A hint of potential

Towards the extremity of the film, a series depicting the gathering of 2 mothers gives 1 a hint of the affectional imaginable that the movie held, but this comes excessively precocious successful the day. Lijomol Jose, arsenic 1 of the mothers, is 1 of the fewer redeeming graces successful the film. Nivin Pauly’s quality appears superfluous astatine respective points, with the screenwriters often taking evident efforts to insert the prima into the drama. Neither does the relation supply immoderate scope for show to the actor, nor does helium adhd overmuch to the movie.

With the thriller way losing steam by the halfway mark, the remainder of the movie plods on with the assistance of the affectional play and a fewer convenient contrivances. But the dated attack ensures that overmuch of this does not make the intended impact. 

(The movie is moving successful cinemas)