There is a dying father and Bollywood’s favourite plot point – a last wish: To see the 23-year-old wild-child tamed at a martial arts training camp in Kerala. Rony (Tiger) learns Kalaripayuttu, a South Indian combat technique, gets wilder and kills half of Thailand for jest. It doesn’t help that his character draws inspiration from the Ramayana.
Then there is Rony and Sia’s (Shraddha) love story; it hits a roadblock in Raghav (Sudheer Babu), a Bangkok-based gangster. Every floor of Raghav’s mansion is packed with fighters, murderers and foul-mouths who think China is the only place to learn the authentic martial arts. Will a proud Indian have any choice other than killing all of them? (This way, literally every‘body’ is justified.)
Baaghi is a mix of Rumble in the Bronx and the Protector, but in the wrong proportions. It uses the space like the former and sensibilities of the latter. Action sequences lack thoughtful choreography, and thus everything comes down to Tiger’s flexibility. In addition to it, he is also expected to play a hardcore Bollywood lover.
Screenplay is Baaghi’s weak point.
Ultimately, instead of a well-etched strong yet compassionate character, Shroff comes off as someone with split personalities. He laughs, smirks, cries and fights on repeat.
The director also wastes too much time in laying out a carpet for the final bloodbath. Had he prolonged the action scenes, Baaghi could have at least been more engaging. This is where Vidyut Jammwal’s Commando (2013) excelled.
Sabbir Khan had earlier directed Heropanti.
The saving grace is the exotic locales, from Kerala’s backwaters to Krabi, there’s plenty eye candy to soothe the sore screenplay. But you still have to deal with the ugly bones being broken in the 133- minute film.
In short, The Karate Kid enters Bloodsport and appears in a hurry to become Ong-Bak without losing the essential Bollywood qualities. Baaghi shines only in patches.