“Baby & Baby” Film Review

Baby & Baby is a comedy of errors set against a backdrop of two conservative families headed by two conservative and dogmatic fathers. Although offering very little in terms of originality of plot or character development, the film provides many laughs, many of them of the laugh-out-loud variety and features a stellar cast.

Jai, Sathyaaraj and Yogi Babu head the cast of Prathap’s debut directorial, Baby & Baby. They are supported by Pragya Nagra, Keerthana, Sai Dhanya, Illavarasu, Nizhalgall Ravi, Sriman, Anandraj, Singampuli, Mottai Rajendran, RJ Vigneshkanth, Redin Kingsley and Lollu Sabha Seshu.

Two babies are accidentally swopped at an airport and puts two couples in a huge predicament as the incident occurs at a crucial time in their lives. Forced to manage an impossible situation, they soon discover that one lie is never enough in a cover-up. Amid the high drama that follows, there is plenty of humour to sweeten the experience for the audience.

Jai looks jaded in his role but Pragya Nagra, Sai Dhanyaa and Keerthana rise beautifully to the occasion. Sathyaraj shows signs of brilliance but is eclipsed by a very memorable performance by Yogi Babu. Sriman, whose comedic timing has been under-utilised in the Tamil film industry, delivers a memorable performance. Anandraj, Illavarasu, Singampuli and Mottai Rajendran all contribute to many laughs,with Redin Kinglsey making a  delayed but significant contribution.

It is Prathap’s wit-laden script and his combination with lots of physical comedy that turns the rather clichéd story into good entertainment. However, Prathap has stretched the dramatic aspects of the story past their comfort radius and lags in the middle of the screenplay. This is unfortunately also at a time when the comedy thins and an unsuccessful attempt at tense drama is made.

Despite these flaws, Baby & Baby does provide some escapist humour which – amid the thrillers and action films at the box-office – makes a welcome change.

D Imman’s music is not at his best in the background score, but his songs are marginally better.

TP Sarathy’s cinematography makes no significant contribution with many of the lighting and framing techniques resembling the style usually reserved for television soapies.

If you can ignore the lull in the screenplay and the scant regard for logic and focus on the delightful humour in this film, Baby & Baby provides a very pleasant viewing experience.

Baby & Baby scores 6 points out of 10.