Oh Baby movie review: The film convincingly captures the circle of life.Oh Baby movie cast: Samantha Akkineni, Lakshmi, Rajendra Prasad
Oh Baby movie director: BV Nandini Reddy
Oh Baby rating: 3 stars
Oh Baby, the Telugu remake of South Korean fantasy comedy Miss Granny, follows the unexpected turn of events in the life of Savitri a.k.a Baby (Lakshmi). Having lost her husband to war at a very young age, she had become physically and mentally tough to protect herself and her only son. She is now 70 and runs a canteen at a college campus. She has developed such a sharp tongue over the years that not everyone is happy about being around her. In fact, she is so oblivious to the effect of her constant nagging on other people, that she causes her daughter-in-law (Pragathi) to suffer a heart attack.
Baby is not evil. She is just full of regrets and discontentment with her life, which is now at its fag end.
As she marinates herself in self-pity, something fantastic happens. God appears before her and makes her 50 years young with just a click of a camera. And, so it begins. It Baby’s second shot to live a life that she always desired. She can become a singer, an actor, or just eat all her favourite food to her heart’s content without worrying about her digestive health.
In a scene, the youthful Baby (Samantha Akkineni) wakes up to find her muscle pains have vanished. And what is the first thing she does? She shows off her regained strength and functional fitness in front of old people, who even struggle to stand up on their own. It may appear even offensive in another film. But in Oh Baby, you can’t help but feel happy with Baby as she flexes her strong and flexible muscles.
The entire comedy of the film rests on Baby’s struggles to come to terms with her new reality. Even as her physical age is 24, she is the same 70-year-old doting mother from the inside. Baby forgets her youth when she sees her son Nani (Rao Ramesh) and rushes to him with open arms. She can’t help but complain about her daughter-in-law’s cooking. She force feeds her grandson Rocky (Teja Sajja) and punishes him for smoking. She tucks in a fully-grown man Vikram (Naga Shaurya), who wants to have relations with her, by singing a lullaby. Her new life still revolves around her loved ones. It seems she would endure all the hardships all over again and risk growing into a cranky old woman for the sake of her loved ones even in her second chance.
Samantha Akkineni thrives in the role that reflects the possibilities of youth, the burden of old age, and the society’s indifference to the desires and complaints of old people. Written by director BV Nandini Reddy and Lakshmi Bhupala, the film convincingly captures the circle of life.
