Oh! Baby Review: Magic that’s believable

Oh! Baby (2019) is a Telugu film directed by B.V. Nandini Reddy. It is the official remake of the 2014 Korean film “Miss Granny”.

Samantha Akkineni who plays the younger version of Baby.

Oh! Baby is a film about a 70 plus year old woman, lovingly called Baby (played by Lakshmi), getting a chance to relive her 20s in the present day. She magically turns into a 24 year old when she goes into a mysterious photo studio and takes a picture. I haven’t been a fan of magical realism because I always found it hard to believe what’s happening in the story. I would often tell myself that this can’t happen in real life while watching such films. However, I decided to watch this film because of A) Samantha B) Great Reviews C) Lakshmi - I love her because of her role in Jeans (1999) as the Paati.

Lakshmi & Samantha in a credits song sequence.

This film is, honestly, a roller coaster of emotions. I mean a rollercoaster that has multiple 360 degree turns and death drops. It covered so many pertinent topics that we don’t get to see often in Indian Cinema.

One topic that they touched upon was romantic desires of older people. Movies often paint very one dimensional images of old people - specifically in Indian films. A crucial part of this film is about how Baby finds a man who loves her deeply when she lives as a 24 year old and how she deals with that when something life threatening arises. The plus about this movie is that it does shove messages down your throat but effortlessly weaves them into the scenes. Show, don’t tell. The Director definitely listened to her English tutor :-)

Young Baby and her love-interest.

The film also shows the harsh realities of old people and how the society treats them. As someone who shares a close relationship with my Grandmother, this film was even more special to me. The way Baby dotes on her grandson is exactly how my grandmother treats my brother. I honestly think there is so much scope for movies to tap on this grandparent and teenage grandchild relationship because it’s so damn beautiful.

Indian dramas/films have the tendency to show Mother-in-laws as fire breathing monsters. This film does that too and we see some detrimental effects on the family because of this “demon” who’s out to make everyone’s life miserable. What is different here? We get to know why Baby behaves the way she does. Why does she disregard whatever her Daughter-in-law does for her Son? Why does she never appreciate her? Does this mean that she doesn’t care about her Daughter-in-law? So many questions. They all have answers in the film.

If there‘s one thing that irked me, it would be the scenes where Young Baby accuses her now love-interest of molesting her when he actually approaches her for something very different. In the age of #MeToo, a time when women are standing up for the injustice, a time when some people are disregarding these brave women’s claims and making a fool out of them...I don’t think such scenes were needed. For a film I loved sooooo much, that will always be a thorn I can’t remove.

Lastly, I have to talk about Samantha’s performance in this film. I’ve seen her get criticism for always being the pretty face in film. I must say I’m hella proud for someone of her clout to back good, entertaining films like this. She not only did justice to the role but also entertains you whenever she‘s on the screen. Actress Lakshmi also did a really great job! There’s no way one‘s heart wouldn’t melt in this particular scene in the hospital.

Kudos to the music director of the film. I enjoyed almost all the songs in the film regardless of the fact that I don’t know a single word in Telugu. (Except for Champestaanu)

Lastly, a word of caution for my friends on exchange. I would advise you not to watch this movie on a day you’re really home sick. Watch it when you‘re not homesick. Or else...It’s ok. Just try and see.

Oh! Baby is a film that reinforces my faith in South Indian Cinema and female superstars. You can have a good film that’s entertaining and led by a woman. Good days are ahead for movie lovers.