Baby John, an almost scene-by-scene remake of Atlee’s Theri , desperately tries to give Varun Dhawan a mass makeover. The Southern style is strong with this one as the actor puts on his shades, stylishly flips gum into his mouth, and sits assuredly on the bonnet of a police jeep—a simple act portrayed with such cinematic dexterity. He lights up a cigarette only to ultimately burn down the bad guy. But Varun’s off-screen personality doesn’t amply provide the heft this actioner needs. When he says, “Mere jaise bohot aaye honge, but main pehli baar aaya hoon” (Many would have come before me, but I have come for the first time), he does it with the hope of eliciting claps, as with Shah Rukh Khan’s fan-favourite line, “Bete ko haath lagane se pehle…” (Before touching the son) from Jawan. But Varun’s public appeal isn’t propulsive enough to make the dialogue rousing; rather, it falls flat and feels uneven. As a whole, Baby John also leaves you with a similar feeling.Varun is John D’Silva, a pacifist baker and a doting single father who lives with his young daughter, Khushi, in Kerala. They affectionately call each other ‘baby’. The relationship lacks chemistry and seems to exist only to monetise Varun’s real-life father image. His character eschews violence and hides behind a newspaper when around a police station. A misunderstanding leads some goons to knock on his door one night. He tries to reason, even renders a folded-hands apology, but they still go after his daughter. Big mistake. John ties up his mundu as the dark sky flashes with thunder. Time to get cracking—some bones.This paavam baker was once Satya Verma, a supercop who claims to be Gandhian but is more likely to turn the cheek of the other guy and cane it red. After a girl is raped and immolated by local strongman Nanaji’s (Jackie Shroff) son, Satya delivers vigilante justice. It doesn’t end well for the cop and his family as Nanaji exercises his revenge. Satya disappears and takes on an alias to protect his daughter from his turbulent past.
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