'Baabarr' is a movie that is full of violence, rather gruesome one. We wonder if such a movie could provide any entertainment to its audience. Yes, such a scenario is witnessed these days but only at the hands of militants who form a miniscule section of society. We cannot compare this with another movie falling in this genre like Ram Gopal Verma's 'Satya'. A dreaded criminal of 'Baabarr' played by Sohum Shah is nowhere close 'Satya's Bhiku Matre! Bhiku evokes empathy among the audience whereas 'Baabarr' doesn't. In comparison to 'Satya', 'Baabarr's story is that of a barbaric who is merciless and unapologetic for whatever he does. That's why most of the multi screens will fail to attract crowds though one screeners might succeed in feeding their audience by its gangsterism coupled with a shabby type of romance.
Baabarr though too young is a thorough criminal. He may represent the miniscule section of the northern region of India where there is no dearth of such criminals at any given time. He is 12-year-old, shoots a man in cold blood with his country gun, and walks the streets of Aman Ganj without any fear. Not only this, Baabarr is aided by devious politicians and a corrupt cop Chaturwedi played by Om Puri. So, the state assigns the task of either arresting or killing him to an specialist in encounters S P Dwivedi played by Mithun Chakraborty. Such a criminal can never hope for any sympathy from any quarter. Besides, he is seen canoodling his mistress played by Urvashi Sharma. How can director Anshu Trikha think of making such a character a hero is beyond our comprehensible. Thus, the storyline falls short of a good one in our eyes.
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Acting-wise, the movie has plus points. The actors look like their characters. Sohum Shah though a newcomer proves his mettle and can look forward for bright prospects in near future. Ace actor Mithun Chakraborty plays excellent as a cop. Om Puri isn't far behind, and acts wonderfully well. Sushant Singh is good though there isn't much of a role for him. Urvashi Sharma and Govind Namdeo play very well too. Mukesh Tiwari is as usual his best. Ikram Akhtar's dialogues are excellent. Suhas Gujarathi's cinematography is good too.
Overall, the movie may attract commoners but may not fare very well with others, especially at multiplexes. Wish director Trikha had cared to make it an entertainer.
