Baby Girl review: This Nivin Pauly starrer is a thriller that can't seem to get its footing

The movie tries to combine real-time suspense with moral complexity, but it fails because of how complicated it is.

• Baby Girl is a Malayalam thriller about a missing newborn and moral dilemmas.
• Despite strong acting and premise, the film fails to deliver emotional impact.
• Nivin Pauly's role feels forced; overall execution lacks nuance and precision.

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Malayalam film Baby Girl hit the screens today and expectations on this film have been really high all this time. The thriller stars Nivin Pauly and it has a well-known writing team and exciting premise.

However, the final product doesn't quite live up to its promise. Arun Varma directed the movie, and the famous duo Bobby and Sanjay have written the movie.

The movie tries to combine real-time suspense with moral complexity, but it fails because of how complicated it is.

The main plot of Baby Girl is about a newborn baby who goes missing from a hospital. The characters then have to deal with guilt, responsibility, and moral dilemmas as they search for the baby. The main idea of the story is all about looking at who really deserves to be a mother—is interesting, but making it a high-octane thriller takes away some of the emotional impact. Instead of focusing on the deep conversations between Ritu (Lijomol) and young Meenakshi, whose lives are tied to the missing baby, the story uses the baby as a plot device to create a series of unlikely twists.

Nivin Pauly plays Sanal, a hospital worker who seems to be involved in the case more as an afterthought than as a natural part of the story. His sporadic appearances seem forced, making it seem like a hero was added for marketing reasons rather than story reasons. Other characters, including those in law enforcement, are also not well-developed. They often seem to be there just to move the plot along instead of adding to it.

Baby Girl also has trouble with technology. The filmmaking sometimes seems old-fashioned and basic, with some set pieces and production choices that remind me of older thrillers instead of adding new tension. The music by Sam CS, which should build tension, ends up sounding jarring and out of place.

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In the end, Baby Girl is a movie that promises to deeply explore mother-daughter relationships and moral conflict, but it ends up being a confusing thriller that doesn't make you feel anything. Even though the acting is good and the central idea is interesting, the execution lacks the nuance and precision needed to make the story work.

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Lijomol, Sangeeth Prathap, Abhimanyu Thilakan

Director: Arun Varma

Rating: 2/5