Bikinis, ‘Baby John’, and Attlee’s dialectics

Songs of ‘Pathan’, ‘Baby John’ and ‘Jawaan’

Minutes before the interval block of baby johnI finally woke up. Varun Dhawan’s Christmas Day release is a scene-by-scene remake of Vijay’s 2016 Tamil action film theriDirected by Kalisz, the Hindi update is a disappointing tale that tells an old, complex story about a former policeman in hiding who is unable to achieve simple things like separating Mumbai from Kerala, Dhawan’s mass hero. ‘ reiterates the ideal that Shahrukh Khan adopted. -And achieved success in 2023 young,

young It was directed by Atlee, theri’Director of, who produced baby john With his wife Priya Atlee. Despite stylistic and thematic continuity with previous Atlee films, I felt the writer-director’s presence most prominently in one key scene. Rajpal Yadav, playing a comic relief police constable, offers insight into India’s entrenched rape culture. He says that on an average four women are raped every hour in India. But when it comes to heinous crimes like rape, the public has a very short memory, he said. “Soon there will be a controversy over the bikini of a big actress and we will forget…”

The line is full. In 2023, Shahrukh Khan-starrer Pathan Deepika Padukone faced criticism for the saffron colored bikini worn in the song Besharam Rang. Hindu groups such as Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) protested against the scene, following which the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) directed Yash Raj Films to make changes. This noise did not diminish the anticipation of Khan’s return after four years Pathan Grossing over ₹1,000 crore worldwide.

baby john The name of Padukone or ‘Shameless Rang’ has not been taken in this. Nevertheless, this reference is unacceptable given Atlee’s track record: Jawan made several allusions to current events, giving the boilerplate action thriller a political charge. The film also addresses farmer suicides, corruption in defense procurement and electoral clientelism, among other topics. One of the subplots concerns a Muslim doctor convicted of medical negligence, echoing the story of Dr. Kafeel Khan, a pediatrician from Gorakhpur. Actually, Sanya Malhotra, who played this character youngturns into a cameo Baby John.

it’s impossible to read baby john as a political film, or to take its core message seriously. Like most Hindi police dramas, the film defends police brutality as the solution to all of society’s problems – from rape to child labour. In a cheeky, self-aware scene, Dhawan’s character declares himself a ‘Gandhian’ cop, before politely leading a gang of goons to their death. This rings absolutely true for Atlee, many of whose films seem to celebrate vigilantism and extrajudicial justice. In Bigil (2021), for example, has a disturbing scene where an acid attacker is given a taste of his own medicine by the film’s hero. It is presented as ‘Badla’, and a supposed display of women empowerment, with a righteous Vijay overseeing the proceedings.

Today mainstream Hindi cinema is not as socially or politically vocal as its Tamil counterpart. when i reviewed young On a positive note for this publication, I was told by my Southern colleagues that they could not see the promotion. Yet, I was watching that scene for the second time in a theater in Mumbai, where Shah Rukh Khan addresses the audience directly and asks them to vote judiciously and not be influenced by religion or creed. Ahead of the 2024 general elections, it felt as if Khan was making his stand about polarization and identity politics known. Another scene where he growls, “Before touching my son…” It seemed as if Khan was clapping after his son got closure in the drug case.

Atlee has previously spoken about the political aspects of his films. He said, “Politics is a part of us, politics should be discussed and if it is hidden then it is not democracy.” Times NowBut youngThe credit for politics is being given to Shahrukh Khan, he had said in another interview: “This is my voice, this is the voice of the common man. As a citizen you have to be very responsible, and I am not specifying anything…” He added: “I am saying a message for a lifetime, my films should run for 100 years.”

It remains to be seen whether baby john-With Salman Khan’s well-placed cameo in the mid-credits scene – will last for 100 years. For now, it is just another chapter in the ongoing development of Attlee-ian dialectics.