The latest Huma Qureshi movie has a killer title inspired by its killer heroine. Baby Do Die Do stars Qureshi as Baby Karmarkar, a deaf-mute assassin who operates in the streets and warrens of Mumbai. Alongside offing targets identified by her mentor Jain (Chunky Panday), Baby broods about the man who had killed her sister all those years ago.
A new assignment for the shady builder Zafar (Sikandar Kher) and his brother Lucky (Arun Kushwah) brings unwelcome attention from police officer Anjum (Seema Pahwa). Zafar’s adversary Manju (Vidya Malavade) wants revenge for her husband Mikky (Himanshu Malik). Baby also lets her soulful neighbour Siddhu (Rachit Singh) into her heart.
Nachikent Samant’s Hindi film, based on a story by Jasmeet K Reen and Parveez Shaikh and written by Samant and Gaurav Sharma, initially lives up its superb title and inventive premise. Baby Do Die Do sets itself up smoothly and vividly.
Mumbai’s permanent state of grunge is deftly portrayed, with a stark contrast between Baby’s working-class living quarters and the very tall tower that Zafar is building on encroached land. The amoral characters embody Mumbai’s grimly professional ethic.
Split screens not only for allow Baby’s sign language to be translated but also give the film the feel of a comic book adaptation. The song Alpha Q, featuring Saqib Saleem – Huma Qureshi’s brother and the film’s producer along with her – is a cheeky dig at the other female assassin movie, Alpha, which has been released on the same day.
Baby’s romance with Siddhu isn’t just inconvenient for Jain, who worries about losing his ace sharpshooter. (His other employee, Manu, played by Marudhar Shekhawat, doesn’t quite cut it.) The love story takes over the narrative and diffuses its focus, forcing overly neat coincidences and unconvincing twists.
However, awkward plotting is required to bring Baby back to her original mission to find her sister’s slayer. In the bargain, Vidya Malavade’s Manju is nearly forgotten. There’s also the nagging question of Baby’s season-specific weapon of choice.
The 125-minute film could have done with the same kind of ruthless treatment that Baby reserves for her targets. Yet, there’s much to savour in Baby Do Die Do, from rich character detailing – Sikandar Kher, Seema Pahwa and Rachit Singh are especially well served – to topical commentary on Mumbai’s rapacious real estate industry. Huma Qureshi is an efficient Baby, whose stoicism hides sadness and regret.
Nachiket Samant maintain a consistent tone of deadpan humour and uses the eclectic soundtrack to good effect. Samant gets the doing and the dying right, but then gets distracted by the living and the loving.
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