- Movie Name:Baaghi Movie Review: High end action marred by clichéd drama
- Critics Rating: 2 / 5
- Release Date: APR 29, 2016
- Director: Sabbir Khan
- Genre: Action thriller
When director Sabbir Khan said Baaghi is the modern retelling of Ramayana, he left many cine-goers guessing how he had developed the plot. Baaghi certainly derives its plot from the Ramayana but it totally misses out on the subtlety of the celebrated Indian epic.
Ronny (Tiger Shroff) is a rebel who loves playing with danger. Ronny’s father is fed up of his reckless ways and sends him to his old pal, an expert in Kerala’s ancient martial art Kalariypayattu. The unforgiving Guru teaches Ronny some mean moves and makes him an incorrigible fighter. Ronny becomes a thorn in eyes of the star student Raghav ( Sudheer Babu) who earlier had his teacher’s undivided attention.
Things get awry when Ronny and Raghav fall for Sia (Shraddha Kapoor), also a student in the academy who loves to play in the rain and is in the habit of talking to herself. Blinded in love, Raghav abducts Sia leaving Ronny to come to the rescue of his lady love in the gritty underbelly of Thailand. Baaghi is replete with breathtaking action sequences; succinctly put, it is the best action film we have seen in recent times at least in Bollywood.
We have seen creators often resort to excessive action as a deceptive tool to conceal the flaws in the drama and Baaghi is no different either – it fails to involve you emotionally.
Baaghi bears an eerie similarity to Indonesian action thriller Raid Redemption where martial-arts hero Iko Uwais makes his way floor by floor in a skyscraper, fighting goons to reach the villain and rescue the heroine.
Cinematographer Bindo Pradhan has exquisitely captured the fabulous locales of Kerala and Thailand in his camera, making a it a visually rewarding film. Background score by Julius Packiam is engaging and matches well with film’s brilliant action scenes.
Baaghi’s music is decent and Tiger Shroff sets the bar higher in choreography with his gravity defying moves. Honestly, Shroff’s dance and his jaw dropping action skills can give any Hollywood A-grader a run for his money. However, when it comes to acting, he leaves a lot to be desired. His Hindi pronunciation would make you wish that he spoke less and kicked more. Nevertheless, the last thirty minutes – especially the hand to hand combat scenes – will left you spellbound.
Baaghi also marks the Bollywood debut of Telugu actor Sudheer Babu, who plays a competent adversary of the flamboyant Tiger. Their fight sequences are gripping and would keep you on the edge of your seats.
Barring her bikini scene and a few kicks that she executes in the climax, Shraddha Kapoor is underutilised in the film.
If you are game for high adrenaline action and less inclined towards drama, then Baaghi is for you. If not, you better give it a miss.
