Babita Singh Reporting Review: Paatal Lok Vibes, With A Love Story On The Side

Cinephiles by now are well-versed with what Paatal Lok creator Sudip Sharma has up his sleeve in the whodunnit lane. It is nowhere close to a traditional investigation and maybe that's why shows like Paatal Lok and Kohrra have conjured such loyal audiences.

Prime Video's newest 'Baby' - Babita Singh Reporting - is unique in its treatment. It juxtaposes a woman's journey of realising her self-worth through a disturbing lens. But pepper it with a slow-burning investigative thriller and it instantly seems enticing.

Directed by Ambiecka Pandit, created by Amita Vyas with Sudip Sharma onboard as an executive producer, Babita Singh Reporting has a stimulating framework of a grounded crime investigation. And as always, the underdog is an underconfident, deeply troubled in unseen ways, and still the hero - our protagonist.

The plot revolves around Babita 'Baby' Singh (Nimisha Sajayan), who is an underconfident people-pleaser and a cop in Madhya Pradesh. Her work-life balance has indeed gone for a toss as she increasingly finds it difficult to visit her in-laws with no leave being approved. Out of desperation, she takes the blame for a fake charge upon herself and earns a two-week suspension - sadly the only way she can now visit Rewa with her husband for her sister-in-law's baby shower.

Until this point, it all seems like a basic domestic story unfolding, but the heat beneath the surface of what the tale is about begins to simmer when Babita reaches Rewa and bumps into her childhood friend Bansi (Barun Sobti). There's visible tension between the two; patches of unrequited love show. Bansi seems to be in awe of Babita and pleads with her to meet him later. But she doesn't, as her responsibilities of visiting her in-laws for the first time trump the comforting feeling of a childhood friend.

And here is where we learn the most impactful lesson of life - 'Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare toh ab.'

The next day, Babita gets to know that her friend Bansi has been murdered.

And thus begins a rogue-like investigation spearheaded by Babita, who is hell-bent on finding who the culprit is.

But this isn't your usual murder mystery where the ultimate goal is to find the killer. That's the kind of trope-heavy approach that a Sudip Sharma-backed crime thriller escapes, and it does so this time too.

The murder acts merely as a conduit to the protagonist Babita Singh's own journey in the film. She is relentlessly body-shamed by her in-laws, including her husband. Despite being a police officer, her profession seems to hold little to no significance to her in-laws, who want a traditional daughter-in-law to take care of household chores, tend to their guests, and be involved only in the baby shower duties that she came for.

To top it, there's the pressure of having a child too. Because that's all a married woman in a small town is expected to endeavour towards. Babita is practical; her husband is patriarchal. How typical.

Her husband constantly seems to downplay her existence. When she dives headfirst into solving her childhood friend Bansi's case after being consumed by the guilt of not meeting him upon his request, her husband ridicules her efforts.

As new clues and confrontations about what happened the night Bansi died surface, Babita also discovers clues in her personal life - ones that lead the way to family betrayals, hidden truths and insults embedded in white lies.

And to sum it up, Babita Singh gives strong vibes of Hathiram Chaudhary from Paatal Lok. Look deep, and you'll know.

Two cops, deeply underestimated by peers, relegated to doing only minor work. Both fighting inner battles and unspeakable traumas. They are loved because they seem humane. Their vulnerabilities come across as real rather than the same-old hyper-masculine cop figure flexing. And just like Paatal Lok, in Babita Singh Reporting also, we see the protagonist wading past societal pressures and toxic environments to ultimately see justice served.

And therefore Babita Singh's victory at the end is not about what the status of the murder investigation culminates into, but her self-realisation hitting a crescendo, which makes the loudest noise.

A word of appreciation for the dark horse himself - Barun Sobti. In his limited time as Bansi, he makes an impactful impression. His one-sided love for Babita, his eyes welling up, his personal conundrums that come to light as the story progresses and Babita unearths secrets about his life - everything comes to a cohesive conclusion. Barun Sobti has previously worked in Kohrra, which was also backed by Sudip Sharma. What is impressive about Barun Sobti is that, main character or not, his commitment to the craft shows and glows.

Nimisha Sajayan is excellent as a law enforcement officer during the day and daughter-in-law by night. Her transformative journey into standing up for herself hits you like a rock and it's much needed.

For a crisp 2 hours and a few minutes' watch, Babita Singh Reporting is simply the best, baby!