Baby (2023 Film)
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''Baby'' is a 2023 Indian
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
-language
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
directed by
Sai Rajesh Sai Rajesh Neelam is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. He has produced ''Colour Photo'' (2020) under Amrutha Productions, which won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. His f ...
and produced by Sreenivasa Kumar Naidu under Mass Movie Makers. The film features
Vaishnavi Chaitanya Vaishnavi Chaitanya (born 4 January 1993) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu films. She is best known for her role in the drama series '' The Software DevLOVEper'' (2020) and the film ''Baby'' (2023) for which she won Filmfare Critics ...
, Anand Deverakonda, and Viraj Ashwin in the lead roles and the music is composed by
Vijai Bulganin Gorthi Vijai Bulganin (born as Gorthi Vijay) is an Indian composer and singer who works in Telugu cinema. He has produced few independent music videos and later continued as a composer in Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He received wider recogn ...
. ''Baby'' was released on 13 July 2023 to positive reviews from critics and audiences and emerged as a major success at the box office grossing over becoming the eighth highest-grossing Telugu film of the year.


Plot

Vaishnavi and Anand are neighours and high school students, who live in a slum in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
. Anand has a troubled relationship with his mother as she is mute and deaf, although she loves him dearly. Vaishnavi has a crush on Anand, but he does not acknowledge her until one day when she stands up to their teacher. Anand reciprocates her feelings, and they eventually start a relationship. Three years later, Vaishnavi goes on to join a prestigious Engineering college while Anand drops out of college due to bad grades. He takes to driving an
auto Auto may refer to: Vehicles * An automobile, or car * An autonomous car, a self-driving car * An auto rickshaw Mechanisms * Short for automatic * An automaton * An automatic transmission Media * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ...
for a living. Anand mortgages his auto to buy a smartphone for Vaishnavi. However, he has a hard time repaying the loan. Vaishnavi, meanwhile, has a hard time fitting in with the wealthier, modern students of her college. She befriends classmates Viraj and Seetha, and tries her best to integrate into their social circle. Viraj is attracted to Vaishnavi, who hides the fact that she is in a relationship with Anand. Enamoured by the glitzy and glamorous life of her new friends and angered by Anand's increasingly abusive and controlling attitude, Vaishnavi starts to grow emotionally distant from Anand and closer to Viraj. Viraj gifts Vaishnavi a new
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
, causing her and Anand to have an argument when she discards and belittles the smartphone Anand got for her, unaware he was slapped by the loan shark in front of his mother. Seetha becomes envious of Vaishnavi as she believes that Vaishnavi is from the lower class and does not deserve Viraj's attention. At Viraj's birthday party, Vaishnavi becomes conflicted when Anand leaves several voicemails apologising to her and Viraj professes his love for her. In an inebriated state and angry at Anand, she texts Anand that she loves him before kissing Viraj, which is captured on the premises' CCTV. She realises her mistake, but Viraj continues to pursue her and asks her to marry him. When she angrily rejects him, he threatens to reveal their kissing video. Using these situations to her advantage, Seetha manipulates Vaishnavi and Viraj against each other. In an attempt to get rid of Viraj, Vaishnavi has a
one night stand A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter in which there is no expectation that there shall be any further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single night performanc ...
with him. Later, she drinks to forget her infidelity and confesses the same to Seetha, which is secretly recorded by Anand's friend, Harsha. Seetha shares the kissing video as well with Harsha, who in turn, shares Vaishnavi's confession and the recording of Vaishnavi and Viraj kissing with Anand. Anand discovers everything that has been going on between Vaishnavi and Viraj and in a fit of rage tries to murder Vaishnavi in her sleep but fails and breaks down in tears. Meanwhile, Seetha informs Viraj that Vaishnavi has had a boyfriend since tenth grade. When confronted publicly by both men, a guilt-ridden Vaishnavi attempts suicide. Anand and Viraj are both arrested, but are released on bail. Vaishnavi is hospitalised and recovers. Anand realises the harsh way he treated his mother and decides to apologise to her, but she passes away that night, causing him to slip into depression. On her father's advice, Vaishnavi finds an emotionally disturbed Anand drinking at a train station. She tries to apologise to him but Anand is unable to forgive her and begs Vaishnavi to leave him alone. Heartbroken, she obliges for his sake. In the epilogue, Anand comes up on Vaishnavi's wedding procession while picking up a passenger. As Vaishnavi and her husband are about to leave her home, she and Anand exchange a glance before he drives away in tears. The film ends with Anand's emotional state and a photo of a younger Vaishnavi in his auto, showing that they loved each other but circumstances and destiny had something else in store for them.


Cast

*
Vaishnavi Chaitanya Vaishnavi Chaitanya (born 4 January 1993) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu films. She is best known for her role in the drama series '' The Software DevLOVEper'' (2020) and the film ''Baby'' (2023) for which she won Filmfare Critics ...
as Vaishnavi "Vaishu" * Anand Devarakonda as Anand * Viraj Ashwin as Viraj *
Nagendra Babu Konidela Nagendra Rao (born 29 October 1961), popularly known as Nagendra Babu and Naga Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who works in Telugu cinema. He has received one National Film Award and two Nandi Awards for his work as ...
as Vaishnavi's father *Lirisha Kunapareddy as Vaishnavi's mother *
Harsha Chemudu Harsha Chemudu (born 31 August 1991) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He started his acting career with the viral web series ''Viva'' on YouTube with which he came to be known as "Viva" Harsha. Early life Harsha graduated in Me ...
as Harsha *Kirrak Seetha as Seetha


Music

The music was composed by
Vijai Bulganin Gorthi Vijai Bulganin (born as Gorthi Vijay) is an Indian composer and singer who works in Telugu cinema. He has produced few independent music videos and later continued as a composer in Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He received wider recogn ...
.


Release

''Baby'' was released theatrically on 13 July 2023. The post-theatrical streaming rights were acquired by Aha and was premiered on 24 August 2023. Television satellite premiere rights were acquired by
ETV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...
.


Reception


Critical reception

A critic from ''
123telugu Mallemala Entertainments is an Indian media and entertainment company which produces films and television programs. Its television productions include reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purpo ...
'' wrote that "On the whole, Baby sheds light on modern-day relationships in a neat manner, and the climax is unconventional. The performances of Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Anand Deverakonda, and Viraj Ashwin are simply superb". A critic from ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' wrote that "Baby is a must watch this season". A critic from ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' wrote that "Baby might leave you with mixed feelings, but it's also the kind of film that'll incite conversations – for better or worse. And maybe that's the point of it all!" A critic from ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote that "Helmed by Sai Rajesh, Anand Deverakonda's latest reads like a moral story with the protagonist actually spelling out the moral three-fourths into the movie". A critic from ''
Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...
'' wrote that "Director wanted to engage the audience riding on confusions in youngsters in dealing with relationships, but falls flat barring some moments".


Box office

''Baby'' concluded its run with the worldwide gross estimated to be ₹80 crore.


Remake

The film is planning to be remade in Hindi.


Controversy

On 11 February 2024, director Shirin Sriram lodged a complaint with Raidurgam police,
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
claiming that the ''Baby'' film closely resembled his script ''Kanna Please'' (later '' Preminchoddu''). Sriram mentioned in the complaint that
Sai Rajesh Sai Rajesh Neelam is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. He has produced ''Colour Photo'' (2020) under Amrutha Productions, which won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. His f ...
had initially shown interest in producing the project but later abandoned it. Police acknowledged the complaint and initiated an investigation.


Accolades


Notes


References


External links

*{{IMDb title, 16118524, Baby 2023 films 2020s coming-of-age drama films 2023 romantic drama films Indian coming-of-age drama films Indian romantic drama films Films shot in Hyderabad, India Films set in Hyderabad, India 2020s Telugu-language films Films scored by Vijai Bulganin Films set in slums