Babita Singh Reporting goes past the messy homes and humming markets to reflect the daredevilry of a protagonist coming into her own.
What ensues is a raw and thrilling marriage of momentum and meltdown across awkward inquiries made within junkie hideouts, suspicious relatives, battered classmates and Ravan’s effigy, applauds Sukanya Verma.
IMAGE: Nimisha Sajayan in Babita Singh Reporting.
Key Points
- Babita Singh Reporting portrays a police officer, Baby, caught in a cycle of people-pleasing, both professionally and personally, until a tragic incident sparks her rebellion.
- The film, directed by Ambiecka Pandit, realistically depicts the subtle manipulations of patriarchy, from workplace demands to domestic body-shaming.
- Nimisha Sajayan delivers a stunningly authentic performance as Baby, showcasing her journey from compliance to fierce determination.
‘Tu best hai, Baby.’
This oft-paid compliment to police officer Babita Singh aka Baby comes at the price of bending over backwards for her self-serving superior at work.
The reason why she lets him throw her under the bus is to meet her family and society’s constant expectations.
Caught in a perverse cycle of people-pleasing both professionally and personally, Baby barely realises its damage to her psyche until an unfortunate incident throws her off balance and sets free a rebellion long in the making.
The Normalcy of Manipulation
Under Ambiecka Pandit’s astute direction of Amita Vyas’s penmanship, the genius of Babita Singh Reporting‘s realism lies in the normalcy of the manipulations at play.
Where a cop asks his subordinate to become his fall guy in exchange of her leave’s sanction. Or a husband’s concern for his wife’s thyroid level coexists with his callous attitude every time he body shames her in private and public.
The rot of patriarchy runs so deeply in the patronising tone adopted by everyone around Baby that confronting it in all its ugliness turns an investigation into a path to self-discovery.
Nimisha Sajayan’s Riveting Performance
Reminiscent of her slow burn rage in The Great Indian Kitchen, Nimisha Sajayan is a perfect fit for Babita Singh Reporting‘s mix of domestic and detective. Essaying the predicament of a woman habituated to complying until she finds the will to push herself to the limit, Nimisha brings a stunning authenticity to both her extremes.
The actress is a riveting study in paradoxes as Baby.
Once determination takes over though, her low self-worth is no deterrent for her nerves of steel as she employs every jugaad and braves all dangers to feed her curiosity.
The reason for this sleuthing is the murder of Baby’s school friend Bansi (Barun Sobti). No sooner does the Bhopal cop and her husband (Anshuman Pushkar) arrive in their hometown Rewa to attend the sister-in-law’s godh bharai function, her artist pal is found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Convinced that the man detained for the crime is not behind it, she starts hunting down Bansi’s real killer while juggling between her bahu and bartan duties.
Challenges Of A Woman In Uniform
One seldom sees the vulnerable side of policewomen in fiction.
Baby’s struggles at work and home reveal the chinks in the armour of a woman overcompensating for her choices.
Having secured the government job on compassionate grounds, respect is hard to come by. You’d be better off as a teacher, harps her grudgingly accommodating husband every time his better half takes off to solve the Bansi mystery.
As a child, Bansi stood up for her against bullies — a memory that becomes a lasting source of comfort in Baby’s repressed existence. Over the course of the unofficial police procedural, she makes it a mission of sorts to figure out what really happened to him and… herself.
Patriarchy’s Subtle Grip
Ambiecka Pandit cleverly blends the dichotomy of the own and the objective in a story that feels incredibly individualistic as well as a commentary on how naturally patriarchy dictates its terms on women, through women.
Though produced by Paatal Lok‘s Sudip Sharma, Pandit’s gentler gaze stays off the grim tracks in favour of a soulful perspective.
When we first meet Baby, she’s making reels for a boss (Rajesh Kumar) known to get away with frivolity but has the gall to question her competence. Yet, for all his unprofessionalism, his entitlement isn’t demonised. The makers retain a sense of humanity even when men and women are at their exploitative most. No one is consciously strong-arming, it’s just the fate of every pushover.
At home too, Baby’s husband seems more weak than wicked in his apathy.
Both a sufferer and supporter of social conditioning, her in-laws expect Baby to fit the mould just as they did before her because they simply donit know better. It’s this nonchalance of patriarchal mindsets that lends Babita Singh Reporting a lifelikeness that’s troubling because it’s not surprising.
Implosion is just around the corner as is Dussehra.
But Babita Singh Reporting‘s small-town milieu goes past the messy homes and humming markets to reflect the daredevilry of a protagonist coming into her own. What ensues is a raw and thrilling marriage of momentum and meltdown across awkward inquiries made within junkie hideouts, suspicious relatives, battered classmates and Ravan’s effigy.
The revelations, even when only partially realised, have less to do with the nature of whodunits but the disenchantment of the soul. But in Nimisha’s simmering eyes and pent-up fury, Baby grows into a force of nature.
The symbolism in Cinematographer Sunil Ramkrishna Borkaris frames highlights it best in the visual of multiple Goddess arms juxtaposed against its heroine’s silhouette. Lest we forget, nobody puts Baby in the corner.
Babita Singh Reporting streams on Prime Video.
Babita Singh Reporting Review Rediff Rating:
