In the first installment of “Baaghi” (2016), Ronnie (Tiger Shroff) took on a gang of villains to save his kidnapped girlfriend. It was one of the first films for Tiger and he impressed as a newcomer. In the second installment “Baaghi 2” (2018), Ronnie took on a bigger group of villains to save his girlfriend’s daughter who had been kidnapped. The production was larger and the audience fairly entertained. But as the count reaches three for Baaghi, the action and drama cross the level of absurdity: Ronnie is yet again forced to save a kidnapped person—this time his elder brother Vikram (Riteish Deshmukh) who has been abducted in Syria by a terrorist organization.
It would be fair to say that Baaghi 3 is a product of lack of creativity, ingenuity and effort, despite its huge production budget. Choreographer-turned-director Ahmed Khan—also the director for Baaghi 2—seemingly chose the worst possible script for this film. He’s neither able to get the best acting from the cast, nor to capitalize on Tiger’s dance skills. Tiger, in turn, has started looking monotonous with the same fight and dance routines in almost all his movies.
In Baaghi 3, two brothers—Ronnie and Vikram—grow up as orphans after their cop father (Jackie Shroff) dies on duty. On his deathbed, the father makes Ronnie, the stronger child, to take a vow that he would look after his elder brother Vikram. So Ronnie sticks like a shadow to Vikram all his life. Vikram only has to scream “Ronnie!” and lo, the muscle-man appears out of the blue.
As the clichéd story continues, Vikram becomes a police inspector and Ronnie again helps him secretly fight criminals. But one day when Vikram is sent to a mission in Syria and gets kidnapped there, Ronnie can’t answer his brother’s call. So he reaches Syria the next day with his girlfriend Sia (Shraddha Kapoor) to take on an army of armed militants lead by “Abu Jalal” (Jameel Khoury).
The story is so unoriginal the film feels like watching a montage of scenes from Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme films from the previous decades/century/millennium, and there’s also quite a bit of similarity with Liam Neeson’s “Taken” series. A weak story gives space to a weaker screenplay, which completely baffles logic and storytelling.
But why did actors like Riteish and Shraddha choose to do this film where their acting skills are undermined by bad writing and even worse direction? Both have been fairly successful in their careers and this desperation to play the most unflattering roles is definitely a surprise. Especially for Ritesh, who has been in the industry for long; his role as Viram is so unconvincing even his sex comedy stints are better. Another disappointment is Vijay Verma from the “Gully Boy” (2019) fame who plays “Akhtar Lahori”, a Pakistani conman. Vijay doesn’t fit the part and seems distracted all the time. All these are roles could have been given to debutants and the experienced actors wouldn’t have been missed at all.
Baaghi 3 is a badly written, badly executed movie that looks to bank solely on Tiger Shroff’s antics and acrobatics. But Tiger’s charms seem to be wearing. Despite his well-toned physique and action and dance sequences that he performs with diligence, there’s nothing new on offer. After so many movies playing similar characters, he is starting to get boring.
With multiplex audience of today preferring content over star factor and glamor quotient, Baaghi 3’s attempt to glorify Tiger falls flat. The filmmakers overdo action sequences and show Ronnie take on a whole army of militants, including fighter helicopters and battle tanks. The improbability is such that it sometimes seems like a comic spoof.
Who should watch it?
The only watchable factor is the movie’s cinematography. But that isn’t enough to keep you entertained for the entire length. Sit this one out in the wake of the coronavirus scare.
Rating: 1.5 star
Genre: Action
Run time: 2hrs 23min
Director: Ahmed Khan
Cast: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Ritesh Deshmukh
