The
temptation
for
larger-than-life
superstardom
is
understandable
but
Varun
Dhawan
is
still
too
much
of
a
Baby
to
be
a
John,
notes
Sukanya
Verma.
You
know
a
movie
is
on
shaky
grounds
when
you
find
yourself
agreeing
with
a
sidekick
who
scoffs
at
the
hero’s
swagger,
‘Kahe
ka
Bachchan?
Machhar
aaya
hai.
Massal
daal.’
Truth
be
told,
Varun
Dhawan’s
good
egg
energy
makes
it
hard
to
buy
him
as
an
indomitable
hulk
single-handedly
taking
on
a
battalion
of
goons
and
serving
justice
without
worrying
about
the
consequences.
The
amount
of
loud
music
and
dramatic
mood
(rain,
thunder,
fire)
gone
in
to
make
the
actor
look
formidable
is
telling
enough
of
how
unsuitable
he’s
for
the
job.
Directed
by
his
assistant
Kalees,
Baby
John
is
a
scene-to-scene
remake
of
Atlee’s
Tamil
hit,
Theri
with
a
couple
of
inconsequential
tweaks
and
a
superstar
cameo
that
didn’t
do
anything
for
Singham
Again
and
doesn’t
do
anything
for
this
one
either.
Even
if
you
haven’t
watched
Theri,
which
is
purely
fan
service
for
Vijay
fans,
you
wouldn’t
miss
out
on
anything.
There’s
no
dearth
of
potboilers
recycling
the
same
old
masala
over
the
decades.
A
man’s
tragic
past
returns
to
haunt
him
and
disrupt
his
peaceful
life
after
he
moves
to
a
far-flung
town
and
assumes
a
new
identity
is
a
tale
so
old,
you
could
finish
the
entire
movie
blindfolded
and
still
arrive
at
the
exact
same
ending.
Treading
on
tough
guy
terrain
in
a
plot
that’s
like
half
of
Suniel
Shetty’s
career,
Varun
Dhawan
oscillates
between
a
baker
and
cop
taking
down
burly,
bearded
men
of
Kerala
and
Mumbai
to
protect
his
daughter
from
harm’s
way
as
well
as
bust
a
human
trafficking
ring
run
by
a
shady
politician
(Jackie
Shroff)
going
all
out
to
protect
his
creepy
son.
Only
the
clunky
writing
never
lets
any
of
Dhawan’s
relationships
—
be
it
with
mom
(Sheeba
Chaddha),
wife
(Keerthy
Suresh),
daughter
(Zara
Zyanna),
right
hand
man
(Rajpal
Yadav)
or
friendly
acquaintance
(Wamiqa
Gabbi)
—
go
beyond
the
cursory
and
is
unable
to
decide
whether
the
character
should
be
badass
or
buffoon.
Between
a
kid’s
cloying
cuteness,
a
meet-cute
that
could
be
mistaken
for
a
Pan
Pasand
ad,
Jackie
Shroff
behaving
like
a
stoned
Betaal,
everyone
from
Sanya
Malhotra
to
Salman
Khan
squandered
for
a
meaningless
guest
appearance,
prolonged
sequences
of
melodrama
asserting
our
hero’s
righteous
traits
and
lazily
inserted
songs
trying
to
compensate
for
camaraderie
and
chemistry,
Baby
John
is
a
hack
job
of
the
first
order.
In
a
better
written
movie
and
less
choppy
editing
resulting
in
haphazard
scenes
and
incoherent
scenarios,
one
might
have
even
appreciated
Varun
and
Keerthy’s
charming
equation.
But
Baby
John‘s
comedy,
cut,
romance,
cut,
dance,
cut,
drama,
cut,
momentum
ensures
it’s
a
distant
dream.
The
charismatic
Wamiqa
Gabbi
is
wasted
spouting
the
Bhagavad
Gita
one
moment,
telling
Varun
how
handsome
he’d
look
in
a
haircut
the
next.
What’s
the
whole
point
of
her
character’s
obligatory
sympathy,
needless
secrecy,
god
knows.
Often
the
dummy
drama’s
penchant
for
needless
fluff
extends
its
running
time
to
an
excruciating
160
plus
minutes.
So
much
of
Baby
John,
starting
with
that
loony
title,
makes
the
movie
look
like
a
parody.
Like
the
time
Rajpal
Yadav
goes
in
full
action
hero
mode
and
announces,
comedy
is
serious
business.
Or
a
flashback
of
a
lady
cop
undergoing
training
every
time
she’s
performing
action
scenes
to
explain
she
can
kick
ass.
Or
a
super
raging
Varun
Dhawan
meaning
business
and
delivering
a
typical
filmi
hero
dialogue
to
his
minion,
oblivious
to
a
bunch
of
media
persons
capturing
him
on
their
camera
up
close.
The
temptation
for
larger-than-life
superstardom
is
understandable
but
Varun
Dhawan
is
still
too
much
of
a
Baby
to
be
a
John.
Baby
John
Review
Rediff
Rating:
