Babyis a 2015 IndianHindi-languageactionspy thrillerfilm written and directed byNeeraj Pandey.The film marks the second collaboration betweenAkshay Kumarand Pandey afterSpecial 26,and stars Kumar in the lead role, along withAnupam Kher,Rana Daggubati,Danny Denzongpa,Taapsee Pannu,Kay Kay Menon,Mikaal Zulfiqar,Madhurima TuliandRasheed Naz.[4][5]In the film, an elite team of theIndian Intelligence system,perpetually strives to eliminate terrorists and their plots, during which an officer leads a team to destroy one such potentially lethal operation.
| Baby | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Neeraj Pandey |
| Written by | Neeraj Pandey |
| Produced by | Bhushan Kumar Aruna Bhatia Shital Bhatia Krishan Kumar |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Danny Denzongpa |
| Cinematography | Sudeep Chatterjee Sudheer Palsane |
| Edited by | Shree Narayan Singh |
| Music by | Songs: M. M. Kreem Meet Bros. Anjjan Score: Sanjoy Chowdhury |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | AA Films(India) Magic Cloud Media & Entertainment(Overseas) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 159 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹25crore[2] |
| Box office | ₹143crore[3] |
Filming began on 4 September 2014 inGreater Noida,Uttar Pradesh.[6][7]It was shot inGautam Buddha University,Nepal,Abu DhabiandIstanbul.The film was one of the most anticipated of the year. Its theatrical trailer was released on 4 December 2014.[5]
Babywas released on 23 January 2015 where it generally received positive reviews from critics who praised its screenwriting, direction, action sequences and Kumar's performance.[8][9]It was a commercial success at the box office, grossing over₹1.43 billion(US$17 million) worldwide.[2]AprequeltitledNaam Shabanabegan filming in September 2016, with Pannu in the lead role as Shabana Khan and Kumar reprising his role as Ajay Singh Rajput in a cameo appearance. It was released on 31 March 2017.[10][11][12][13]
Plot
editA temporary task force headed by Feroz Ali Khan is formed in response to the26/11 attacksinIndia,the job being to find and eliminate terrorists planning attacks in India. While attempting to rescue a fellow secret agent inTurkey,Ajay Singh Rajput captures a former colleague-turned-traitor, Jamaal. Ajay threatens to have his family killed unless provides the information about a terror attack plan. Jamaal tells Ajay about a plot to carry out a bomb blast in a Delhishopping mall,which Ajay is able to prevent with help from Jai. Jamaal then taunts Ajay saying that this was only the first of a series of massive attacks that the terrorists had planned and commits suicide.
Pakistan-based terrorist mastermind, Maulana Mohammed Abdul Rehman, is causing trouble near theIndia-Pakistan border.He plans an escape plan for Bilal Khan, a dangerous terrorist lodged in a prison in Mumbai. For this purpose, Bilal assigns another terrorist Javed Ali Khan who arrives in Mumbai viaDubai.Soon after, Bilal escapes from police custody and flees the country. The Indian agencies are alerted to Javed's arrival and a team ofATS officers,led by Ajay, is dispatched to interrogate Taufiq, anISIagent posing as a local Muslim leader. Ajay manages to get information on Javed after torturing Taufiq and raids Javed's hideout. However, things go haywire when all the officers except Ajay get killed along with Javed after the latter triggers a suicide explosion.
The agency is able to retrieve the remains of Javed's laptop and find a name from thehard drive:Wasim Sheikh, alogisticsplanner for the terrorist groups, living inNepalunder the name of Abdul Haq. Ajay and Shabana Khan travel to Nepal pretending to be a married couple. Their plan to capture Wasim goes awry when he finds out that Shabana is acovert operative.However, Shabana fights with him and knocks him unconscious and the duo bring Wasim back to India. Afraid of the torture that he might face, Wasim reveals all the information that the agency wants. He tells them that Bilal is inAl-DerainSaudi Arabiaand will travel toKarachito launch a lethal attack on numerous locations in India.
Feroz sends Ajay, Jai and frequent collaborator Om Prakash Shukla, an expert hacker, to meet their deep asset, Ashfaq, in Al-Dera. Bilal is holding meetings in Al-Dera to discuss the funding and execution of the terrorist attacks. With Shukla's help, Ajay and Jai break into Bilal's room and kill him. As they are about to return, they find that Maulana is also present at the suite. Jai knocks him out. They decide to bring him back to India, under the pretext that he is Ashfaq's uncle who needs to visit India for an urgentliver transplant.They manage to get a visa from the local authorities for Maulana (being shown as Ashfaq's ill uncle), but the hotel security discovers Bilal's corpse.Police ChiefHani Mohammad starts investigating Bilal's death. He quickly identifies Ajay and his team as Indian agents.
Rehman regains consciousness and suddenly attacks and wounds Ajay, who manages to subdue him. Ajay and his team then board the plane, but Hani contacts the ATC and asks them to stop the aircraft. However, when he sees a newspaper that reveals that Maulana and Bilal are wanted terrorists with an international bounty on their heads, he smiles and lets the plane take off without any further hindrance. A voice-over by Feroz reveals that Maulana was brought to India, but his capture was kept a secret. After 6 weeks of rigorous interrogation, when Maulana had nothing substantial left to contribute, he was handed over to theIndian Armyand taken toSrinagar,where he was given the same treatment by the army as given tomilitants(implying that he was eliminated). The trial run is successful, and the temporary task force is given permanent status where the agents celebrate their victory.
Cast
edit- Akshay Kumaras Ajay Singh Rajput / Rafiq Khan / Rahul Awasthi
- Danny Denzongpaas Feroz Ali Khan, Ajay's Boss
- Taapsee Pannuas Shabana Khan, undercover agent
- Madhurima Tulias Anjali Rajput, Ajay's wife
- Rana Daggubatias Jai Singh Rathod / Vijay Sharma
- Anupam Kheras Omprakash Shukla / Brijmohan Singh
- Kay Kay Menonas Bilal Khan / Firdaus Ali / Jameel Rashid
- Sushant Singhas Wasim Khan / Abdul Haq
- Jameel Khanas Taufiq Aalam
- Mikaal Zulfiqaras Ashfaque Qazi
- Amar TalwarasMinisterDhanraj Pradhan
- Murali Sharmaas Jagdish Gupta, Pradhan's secretary
- Rasheed NazasMaulana Mohammed Abdul Rehman/ Abbas Sheikh
- Sanjeev Tyagias Sharan, a policeman
- Hasan Noman as Hani Mohammed, Officer of Al-Dera Police who investigates Bilal's murder
- Karan Aanand as Jamal
- Rumi Khan as Javed Ali Khan
- Niharica Raizadaas Priya Jhaveri, a reporter
- Sajjad Delafroozas Saudi Arabian Doctor
- Esha Guptain a special appearance in the Song "Beparwah"
Production
editBabywas produced underT-Seriesalong with Crouching Tiger, Friday Filmworks and Cape of Good Films. The filming began on 4 September 2014, inGreater Noida,Uttar Pradesh.[6][7]Some filming was done inGautam Buddha University,at Meditation Hall, Shanti Sarover and Library, at Greater Noida. The second part was shot inNepaland the team completed their final schedule inAbu Dhabiin October. Some parts were also shot inIstanbul.[citation needed]Sajjad Delafroozwas hired to play the role of the Saudi doctor.[14]
Soundtrack
edit| Baby | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack albumby | |
| Released | 23 January 2015 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 17:38 |
| Label | T-Series |
The songs for the film features songs composed byM. M. KreemandMeet Bros Anjjan.Lyrics were written by Manoj Muntashir.
Thefilm scorewas composed bySanjoy Chowdhury.
All lyrics are written byManoj Muntashir
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beparwah" | Meet Bros Anjjan,Apeksha Dandekar | 5:13 |
| 2. | "Main Tujhse Pyaar Nahin Karta" | Papon | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Beparwah" (MBA Swag) | Meet Bros Anjjan,Earl Edgar | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Main Tujhse Pyaar Nahin Karti" | Ramya Behara | 3:50 |
| Total length: | 17:38 | ||
Release
editBabywas released on 23 January 2015.
Reception
editBabyreceived positive reviews from critics who praised Kumar's performance, action sequences, direction and screenwriting.[9]
Critical response
editSubhash K. Jhagave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 and stated, "Babyis one helluva roller-coaster ride. Miss it at your own risk. "[15]Sarita A Tanwar ofDaily News and Analysisgave the movie 4 stars, describing Akshay Kumar's performance in the movie as his career-best.[16]Anuj Kumar ofThe Hindusummarized the film as "A gripping espionage thriller that eschews drama and jingoism".[17]Srijana Mitra Das ofThe Times of Indiaalso gave it 4 stars out of 5 and said, "Akshay Kumar is terrific as Ajay whose core of steel you can almost feel".[1]Hindustan Timesgave the movie 4 stars out of 5 too, calling the film "sleek, well-timed and engaging."[18]Yahoo Movies gave the film 4 stars and wrote, "The film deals with a definite conflict, backs it up with a coherent plot trajectory and delivers a compelling resolution."[19]Anupama Chopragave the film 3.5 stars and stating that the movie will make the viewers forget Akshay's cinematic misdemeanours.[20]Rajeev Masandgave the film 3 stars, hailing its action sequences and performance of the cast.[21]Shubhra Gupta ofThe Indian Expressgave the film 2 stars. However, Gupta praised Akshay Kumar's performance.[22]Devesh Sharma ofFilmfarepraised the breathtaking action of the movie and gave it 3 stars.[23]Ritika Handoo ofZee Newshailed the movie as an entertaining movie which is a must-watch.[24]Saibal Chatterjee ofNDTVgave the movie two stars calling the movie as politically dodgy in spite of being a smartly-packaged, competently shot espionage thriller.[25]Shubha Shetty-Saha ofMid-Daygave the movie 4 stars, calling it a must-watch movie.[26]Mihir Fadnavis ofFirstpostdidn't give positive reviews to the plot but praised the movie as entertaining and fast-paced.[27]Mayank Shekhar ofABP Newsgave 3 stars and wrote that the film manages to hold viewers attention.[28]Abhishek Gupta ofIndia TVsaid the film is "fast-paced and entertaining" and that it "goads by making a point that while America executed their plan to kill the 9/11 mastermind in Abbottabad, here, our politicians could just make loud promises" about the 26/11 attacks.[29]Bollywood Hungamapraised the "exceptional" cinematography; the "extremely gripping" storyline, which makes appropriate use of the actors; the score, which "instills the necessary emotions"; and Kumar's performance. It concluded, "On the whole,Babyis one of the finest films ever made in the history of Indian cinema "and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.[30]R. M. Vijayakar ofThe New Indian Expressgave 3.5 ratings calling it "that near-perfect textbook espionage thriller we have been dying to see: straight and business-like, fast-paced, without frills, and immaculately detailed to the point of occasional verbosity"[31]
Ban in Pakistan
editBabywas banned inPakistanby the censor boards in Islamabad and Karachi, which said that "it portrays a negative image of Muslims and the negative characters in the film also have Muslim names".[32]
Box office
editBollywood Hungamaestimated the opening day at₹9.3 crore(US$1.1 million).[33]International Business Timessaid the film had "tremendous growth" over the weekend and that its first weekend total was₹36.07 crore(US$4.3 million).[34][35]
Prequel and spin-offs
editA prequel titledNaam Shabanawas released on 31 March 2017. The film featuresTapsee Pannuas Shabana Khan in the lead andAkshay Kumarin an extended cameo role.[10][11][12][13][36]Neeraj Pandeyis planning four more spin-offs based on different characters from the film.[37]
Game
editBaby: The Game,an official game based on this film has been released byVroovy,for Android mobile phone users.[38]
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th Mirchi Music Awards | Best Background Score | Sanjoy Chowdhury | Nominated | [39] |
References
edit- ^ab"Baby Movie Review".The Times of India.22 January 2015.
- ^ab"'Baby' (Tuesday) 5 Days Collection at Box Office: Akshay Kumar-Starrer Racing Towards ₹100 Cr Mark ".International Business Times.28 January 2015.
- ^"Baby Total Box Office Collections in India, Overseas, Worldwide".Indicine. 20 February 2015.Retrieved30 September2016.
- ^Saif's Phantom to Akshay's Baby: How Bollywood has dealt with terrorism on screenIndia Today. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ab"Baby trailer: Akshay Kumar breaks stuff while Kay Kay Menon aspires to be Kasab".4 December 2014.
- ^ab"Akshay Kumar's 'Baby' team begins 'awesome' shoot".The Indian Express.Indian Express Limited.4 September 2014.Retrieved5 September2014.
- ^ab"'Baby' team begins 'awesome' shoot ".india (Essel Group). 4 September 2014.Retrieved5 September2014.
- ^"'Baby' - Miss it at your own risk (IANS Movie Review, Rating - ****1/2) ".Archived fromthe originalon 5 March 2016.
- ^ab"'Baby' Movie Review Roundup: A Must Watch Film ".International Business Times.22 January 2015.
- ^abGhosh, Devarsi (14 October 2016)."Baby 2: Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu shoot for Naam Shabana in Malaysia".IndiaToday.in.
- ^ab"Taapsee Pannu-starrer 'Naam Shabana' shoot begins".The Times of India.13 September 2016.Retrieved14 September2016.
- ^ab"Baby sequel Naam Shabana starts shooting without Akshay Kumar".The Indian Express.13 September 2016.Retrieved14 September2016.
- ^ab"Taapsee Pannu-starrer 'Naam Shabana' shoot begins".Business Standard.13 September 2016.Retrieved14 September2016.
- ^"Meet Sajjad Delafrooz, the Salman Khan's arch-nemesis in Tiger Zinda Hai".
- ^"'Baby' - Miss it at your own risk (IANS Movie Review, Rating - ****1/2) ".Yahoo Movies India.23 January 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 5 March 2016.Retrieved30 January2015.
- ^"Film Review: 'Baby' is sensible, taut and yet completely mainstream".Daily News and Analysis.25 January 2015.
- ^Kumar, Anuj (23 January 2015)."Baby review: Preventive measures".The Hindu.
- ^"Baby review: New-age patriotism in a gripping thriller".Hindustan Times.Archived fromthe originalon 22 January 2015.
- ^"Yahoo Movies Review: Baby".The Hindu.
- ^"Anupama Chopra's Verdict on Baby".NDTV.
- ^"'Baby' review: The film is a khichdi of influences, uneven film ".CNN-IBN. Archived fromthe originalon 25 January 2015.
- ^"'Baby' is Akshay Kumar's most credible performance ".The Indian Express.20 June 2020.
- ^"Movie Review: Baby".Filmfare.
- ^"'Baby' review: Kick out terrorism the Akshay Kumar way! ".Zee News. 23 January 2015.
- ^"Baby Movie Review".NDTV. Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2017.Retrieved23 January2015.
- ^"'Baby' - Movie review ".Mid-Day.22 January 2015.
- ^"Baby review: Akshay Kumar's film is fast, entertaining but has a stupid plot".Firstpost. 23 January 2015.Retrieved29 January2015.
- ^"MOVIE REVIEW: 'Baby' - Total timepass".ABP News.
- ^"Baby movie review".India TV. 22 January 2015.
- ^"Baby".Bollywood Hungama.Archived fromthe originalon 3 November 2013.
- ^Vijayakar, R.M."'Baby' Movie Review: Espionage Thriller is Gritty but Overlong ".The New Indian Express.Archived fromthe originalon 30 January 2015.Retrieved29 January2015.
- ^"Pakistan bans Akshay Kumar's 'Baby'".The Hindu.23 January 2015.
- ^"Box Office: Baby becomes Akshay Kumar's 9th Highest Opening Day grosser".Bollywood Hungama.Archived fromthe originalon 25 January 2015.
- ^Mehta, Ankita (26 January 2015)."Opening Weekend Box Office Collection: Akshay's 'Baby' Shows Tremendous Growth; Sonam's 'Dolly Ki Doli' Decent".International Business Times.
- ^"Bollywood Top Grossers".Bollywood Hungama.27 June 2017.
- ^"After Naam Shabana makes a spy out of Taapsee Pannu, get ready for a Baby sequel".21 February 2017.
- ^"Not just Naam Shabana, Neeraj Pandey planning 4 more Baby spin-offs".27 March 2017.
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2016.Retrieved28 October2017.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"MMA Mirchi Music Awards".MMAMirchiMusicAwards.Retrieved25 March2018.
