Samantha and Nandini Reddy have been promoting the movie as a tribute to all mothers who toil without any gratitude or expectation.
And despite the tiny disappointments that I had, it certainly hits all the right chords in that regard.
As the trailer already shows, this film is about old Baby (Lakshmi), who was widowed young and pregnant and for whom her son and later grandchildren had become everything since.
She finds herself unwelcome in her house for some unforeseen reasons and wanders off.
She walks into a photo studio to get a picture of herself clicked, so there’s a good one to remember her from when she dies.
And a little bit of supernatural turns her into a 24-year-old. It’s now her chance to live the life she missed out.
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Then begin the adventures of Baby as Swati (Samantha). Her shenanigans and what it leads to is the rest of the movie, until the happy ending.
The movie opens with Lakshmi playing Baby and man! There is no doubt everyone who watches will see their own bumbling fussy grandmother in her.
She is adorable, annoying and plain pitiful in just the right amounts. She is around for possibly just the first half hour in the film and drags the audience in.
She is the foundation for everything Samantha does afterwards, as a young Baby. And Samantha.. Phew! The complete disregard to people’s perception towards her, the wisdom of the years and the burden of a difficult life are portrayed beautifully by Samantha as one would expect.
If she cries, you cry. If she finds love, you smile. If she pampers you, you listen. However... at the risk of sounding like a party pooper, Samantha’s angry-smacking, loud abuses and the “look, I’m having fun” montages are a bit of an overkill as the first half progresses.
The length of the film almost is also tedious which is probably why the caricaturish acting felt like an overdose.
Either way, Samantha was clearly having a lot of fun playing Baby and it shows. If you are a fan, you’ll find a lot more reasons to love her.
While Samantha is the face of the film and rightly so, the supporting cast are the real winners. All of them are relatable characters, all of whom are victims of circumstances in their story.
Rao Ramesh will leave you in tears, as a man stuck between the love he has for his mother and the love he has for his wife and kids.
Pragathi is every one of our mothers, who lives a thankless life, not acknowledged by the elders nor the young ones of the house and she will make you want to go home and give your mom a hug.
Aneesha plays the angsty teenage granddaughter and is convincing when she says to her father, “Neeku mee amma entho naku maa amma anthe”.
Teja Sajja shares possibly the highest screentime with Samantha (besides Rajendra Prasad) and considering the potential of all his coactors, he delivers an earnest performance.
Rajendra Prasad never ceases to amaze. As Chanti the loyal best friend of Baby he goes from angry to sad to confused to funny in seconds and not for a moment does it feel out-of-place.
Naga Shaurya in an extended cameo played a role which seemed like it was written only for Baby to feel and experience love again. And he delivers.
Now despite putting up a good show, Sunaina who plays Chanti’s daughter has an irritatingly one-toned character which is completely dispensable in the plotline.
It pains me to see a performer like that underused. Snigdha too plays a role which could absolutely have been done away with, considering the character-heavy script.
The dialogues are what make this movie. The lines given to the older folk (in a young body or otherwise) were quite agreeable but falters in places where it seem pedestrian.
I mean in which TV station will you hear a backstage assistant say “This is the power of TV!” five minutes before going live? For a movie that has an entire act based on music, there didn’t seem to be much attention given to it.
It was awkward to see Teja presenting a song with a guitar in hand in a scene while only the keyboard played in the background. As beautiful as Sam looked in her scenes on stage, she wasn’t too convincing as a singer.
Oh Baby makes an important point about the efforts that often go unnoticed in keeping a family together, the stigma towards elderly folks, and the love that they deserve. And yes, it gets it right bang on. Take your parents and grandparents to this one!
| Movie: Oh! Baby Cast: Samantha Akkineni, Lakshmi, Rajendra Prasad, Rao Ramesh, Naga Shaurya, Teja Sajja Director: BV Nandini Reddy Rating: 3 / 5 |