Movie Review : Baththa
Baththa ( Vijay Sethupathi) is a family man, with a loving wife ( Lijomol Jose) and a tween daughter whom he adores.
But he is also a violent don in the village, who beats up people badly in a show of strength.
The entire village searches for Baththa and nobody knows the truth except Sabari, who is too scared to reveal it.
What happens next? Does Baththa survive inside? Does Sabari summon courage to reveal the truth?
The film is a delightful human drama with humor, emotions and a beautiful message coneyed in a moving and tender manner.
Child actor Sai Prithiv Raj steals the show with a spectacular performance, conveying innocence, fear and desperation in a terrific award- worthy act. His scenes with his parents, friends and later Baththa are touching, emotional and also fun to watch. The way the director has shown an insight into a child's mind is laudable. A gem of a find, child actor Sai Prithiv Raj, is the endearing pivot of the film.
Vijay Sethupathi is excellent as Baththa, displaying anger, violence and yet tender emotions for his child, and later for Sabari as well. The actor that people have long admired, is in full form in the film, with Balaji Tharaneetharan's superb direction. The message of the importance of humanity and family relationships is skilfully brought to the fore with the character arc of Baththa, all without a word of preaching.
Some of the highlights are Sabari and Baththa's scenes when they first neet, in the house with his wife and family, the way Baththa treats him like a son and later in crucial scenes under the tree and on the terrace and finally at the climax.
Lijomol Jose as the wife gives us a superbly realistic performance, her expressions of fear, love and tenderness flitting with nuances across her face, adding to every scene she appears in.
Every member of rest of the cast is top-notch and together, the entire team transports you into their world.
The film moves from 1966 to 1986 and the period setting is really impressive and aids in the immersive cinematic experience and will give nostalgic memories to many. Kudos to the art department.
The music by Sai Abhyankkar is the strong backbone of the film., be it his peppy tracks, the soulful Magale number or the terrific bgm that brings to life the era, adding tenderness, humor and thrills in equal measure, wherever needed.
The first half may require patience for people as the characters and plot are established.
Overall, Baththa, a delightful mix of humor, family sentiments, innocence of childhood, nostalgia of an bygone era and a touching message, will leave you laughing,teary -eyed and entertained all at the same time. A simply unmissable watch!
Rating 4/5
Cast:
Vijay Sethupathi as Baththa
Lijomol Jose as Kannima
Sai Prithiv Raj as Sabari
Sahasra as Thenmozhi
Arjun Chidambaram as Jothi
Hari Krishnan as Thirunavukkarasu
Santy Balachander - Selvi
Vishnu Govind as Dilli
Balamurugan as Durai
Crew :
Director : Balaji Tharaneetharan
Produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, Alok Jain & Ajit Andhare
Banner : Star Studio18, A for Apple Studios, Cine 1 Studios Production
Music : Sai Abhyankkar
Co Producer : Ashwin Murugan
DOP : Selva Kumar SK
Editor : R. Kalaivanan
Production Designer : T.Muthuraj
Costume Designer : Shruthi Manjari
Art Direction : Kannan.S
Stunt : Stun Siva, U. Pruthvi, Kevin Kumar
Choreographer: Raju Sundaram
Lyrics : Karthik Netha, KK Nagar Gaana Jeeva, Thamizh
Sound Design : Kunal Rajan
Makeup : Vinod Sukumaran
Costumer : Mohammad Subeer
Designer : Gopi Prasanna
Stills : Maneksha.D
Executive Producer : Mohan Ganesan
Creative Producer : Shalini
PRO : Yuvraaj
Audio Label : Think Music
