Baby John – A Loud, Fast, and Uneven Mass Masala Ride That Rarely Stops to Breathe

Varun Dhawan’s latest mass-masala action entertainer, Baby John, has finally arrived in theatres, and I walked in hoping for a high-energy, mainstream commercial ride. And the film indeed delivers noise, style, and swagger – but not always in the way one might expect. As someone who enjoys a good theatrical entertainer when it strikes the right balance between emotion, action, and spectacle, I found Baby John to be a film that constantly moves, constantly shouts, and constantly tries to impress, yet often forgets to let its strongest moments breathe.

At its core, Baby John is the Hindi remake of Thalapathy Vijay’s Theri, a Tamil blockbuster that carried its own emotional weight and charismatic flair. And the moment the Baby John title track blares inside the theatre – my god, the noise level is something else. Even if you walk in sleepy, that anthem ensures you remain wide awake. The sound shakes the seats, fills the hall, and leaves no space for silence. It is the kind of track you can listen to repeatedly without even knowing why it hooks you. Honestly, that one piece of music elevates the entire film – and had the movie matched the sheer punch of its theme song, we might have had a far more solid mass entertainer in hand.

But Baby John, as it stands, is a cocktail of big highs and equally puzzling lows.

The Unexpected Star of the Film: Rajpal Yadav Outshines Others

Let me begin with the biggest personal surprise: Rajpal Yadav. He stands tall on his own, delivering one of the rare emotional scenes in the entire two-and-a-half-hour runtime that genuinely connects.

There is a moment in the film when Rajpal Yadav delivers a long monologue, and later, in the second half, he gets a brilliantly staged badass scene – one that made me genuinely wish someone would cast him as the main lead in a proper masala movie. I can say with full confidence: I would be the first person lining up to watch that.

When he drags a table with a hockey stick, sits on it, and drops the line, “Comedy is a serious business,” I couldn’t stop myself from openly laughing and clapping. It was stylish, fun, and unexpectedly powerful. If there is one performer who genuinely elevates the film whenever he appears, it is Rajpal Yadav.

A Film That Doesn’t Know When to Stop Moving

Now, why am I highlighting his scene so much? Because, truthfully, the rest of the film suffers from a critical issue: Baby John doesn’t know how to stop. It jumps, cuts, fast-forwards, and races even in scenes that need calmness, pauses, or emotion.

Many scenes could have been impactful, but excessive jump cuts – especially during reaction shots – end up diluting their strength. Let me be clear: if you are watching Baby John purely for entertainment and your bar for cinematic finesse is not very high, you will still find a few moments that connect – the mute father scene, the bathtub scene, and a handful of dramatic sequences will still work.

But there is a very noticeable problem: even though Baby John is a Hindi film, shot fully in Hindi, it still feels like a dubbed South Indian movie. Multiple factors contribute to this.

One common South-style technique is the fast-forward action and reaction, sometimes at 2x or 4x speed, done to create motion artificially. Add to that the rapid cuts I mentioned earlier. And then, in many scenes, the lip-sync for hero, heroine, and side characters seems mismatched. If you’ve watched enough South-to-Hindi dubbed films, this feeling is instantly recognizable. And for a big Hindi theatrical release, it becomes distracting.

Action That Starts Decently But Quickly Turns Into Visual Noise

One of the biggest reasons people will step into Baby John is the action. And in the beginning, I’ll admit, it was decent. Varun’s first action sequence in the rain is stylish, gritty, and promising. It sets up expectations for a slick, high-energy action film. But what comes later, especially in the second half, is something I was absolutely not prepared for.

The film completely forgets planning and choreography. There is no clarity about where a character moves, what his objective is, or how he navigates the geography of a fight. Instead, the action looks like this: ten men shooting randomly from every angle, and Varun Dhawan stands in the middle – with zero protection – shooting them one by one like a superhero.

Most of the time, the action turns into pure visual noise: explosions appearing from nowhere, extreme slow-motion in almost every shot, and that overused track – “O baby John, O baby John” – playing again and again in the background.

By the time the film reaches its climax on top of a container, things go beyond exaggerated and enter a new territory altogether. And honestly? It made me wish the action had stayed closer to the grounded intensity of the opening rain fight.

It’s a shame, really. Because the movie starts at one level, and then every step afterward goes downhill.

Varun Dhawan – Good in Emotion, Hit-and-Miss in Action Hero Mode

Even before watching Baby John, just from the trailer, I personally felt a slight disconnect between Varun Dhawan and the tone of the character he was attempting to play. But surprisingly, onscreen he performs better than I expected – not in action, but in normal, emotional conversation scenes.

His moments with his mother, wife, and girlfriend land well. He brings sincerity, warmth, and ease to those scenes. But then comes the film’s habit of being over-dramatic. The background score repeatedly uses one particular sound involving a woman vocalizing “aa-aa-aa,” and it quickly becomes too much – excessively repetitive for my taste.

Songs That Break the Flow Instead of Enhancing It

Let’s talk about the songs. Or rather, the problem with the songs. Not a single track made me feel, “This is good,” or “Let me concentrate on this.” Every time a song appeared – which is very often; emotional scene? song. Action scene? song. Character breathing? another song – my hand automatically reached for my phone.

And since the film already carries that dubbed-South feel, the songs double that impression. It becomes impossible to ignore.

Jackie Shroff – A Fierce Look That Deserved Far Better Writing

The first poster and teasers featuring Jackie Shroff were striking. His look is fierce, memorable, and intimidating – and he came up with the name Nanaji / Babbar Sher. But in the film, despite the strong presence, Jackie’s character ends up feeling underwhelming by the end.

His look deserved more respect. The character deserved much better writing.

A Few Moments of Authenticity – Marathi Lines, Local Flavor

One thing that unexpectedly made me smile was the use of Marathi words – “anda,” “kadipatta” – and if my ears heard correctly, even a Marathi abuse somewhere in between. These small local touches add authenticity, and I genuinely appreciated them.

The Salman Khan Cameo – Strong Presence, Short Screen Time

Varun Dhawan feels like a younger version of Salman Khan in this film – from body language to posture. And since the trailer already confirmed Salman’s cameo, it was impossible not to compare them when he appeared.

And what can I say? Salman Khan is, and will always be, one of one. Whatever jokes the internet makes about him, his screen presence is undeniable.

But does that mean his cameo is extraordinary? No. It is definitely better than Singham chewing gum, but nowhere near the 15-minute cameo some reports suggested. If you’re entering the theatre only for Salman, you may walk out disappointed.

Baby John Turns Both Superman and Batman in One Film

In classic Indian mass-masala tradition, the hero is already Superman – invincible, unstoppable, capable of anything. But in Baby John, he also briefly becomes Batman. His sudden appearances and disappearances, and the jeep-on-10th-floor stunt inside an under-construction building – well, let’s just say logic does not exist here.

Final Thoughts – Time-Pass Entertainment With Manageable Expectations

Baby John has its positives: the background score, the opening action sequence, some family moments, a handful of dramatic scenes, and of course Rajpal Yadav. If your goal is pure time-pass entertainment on a big screen – nothing more – you could give it a try.

But if you walk in expecting something extraordinary, polished, or emotionally gripping, you will likely walk out wanting more.

This is a loud, restless, and uneven ride – not without charm, but full of rough edges.

Rating: 2/5

A few high points cannot fully save Baby John from its inconsistencies, but with the right expectations, it can serve as a one-time, big-screen masala watch.