Bayaluseeme Babu movie review: Debutant filmmaker-actor Chetan Kumar’s tale has a relatability issue

Bayaluseeme Babu movie review: Chetan Kumar Dharmappa's tale is based on experiences he's seen and heard of, when people from rural areas head to Bengaluru

Chetan Kumar Dharmappa in a still from Bayaluseeme Babu

Bayaluseeme Babu

Bayaluseeme Babu movie story: Following a dispute back home in his village, Babu (Chetan), packs up and leaves to the big city Bengaluru, in the hope of finding some work and a roof over his head. Although a graduate, Babu has no work experience or worldly knowledge, yet manages to get a job at an Iyengar bakery. After spending many nights on the bakery floor, he is finally given office quarters – a modest single room on the terrace of a building.

When Babu, who is barely making ends meet, comes across Basya, an aspiring actor, who has just landed in Bengaluru from a remote village with no money for food or shelter, he decides to take the latter under his wing.

Bayaluseeme Babu movie review: Debutant filmmaker Chetan Kumar Dharmappa’s film is being marketed as a comedy, which it is not. Chetan, who also serves as the title character Babu, presents a slice-of-life tale, which, for an urban audience like me, for instance, comes across as extremely far-fetched. It seemed almost impossible to relate to, and the film had me wondering if the instances playing out were even plausible.

The film’s primary plotline revolves around the very naïve Babu, who, despite his own circumstances, takes on the responsibility of a stranger he meets, only because the latter is in the city in the hopes of becoming a big star and when that break comes along, he will take those who helped him along on this journey on Weekend With Ramesh. Even as Basya refuses to take up any work that could compromise his ‘good looks’ and contribute to household expenses, Babu continues to support him whole-heartedly for months together.

Chetan repeats this later on in the movie, when yet another Good Samaritan takes Babu and Basya in when they are in a bad situation. In all honesty, who would do that? I could not wrap my head around the concept of self-less service for another, who, only moments ago, was a complete stranger to you.

Before dismissing this as improbable, I had a conversation with Chetan, who said that he’d written the characters based on experiences of family and friends who’d headed to the city for employment, as well as his own, when he moved to Bengaluru almost a decade ago. Apparently, these things happen. Well, if they do, there’s still hope in humanity, I’d say. In the film, though, Babu’s motivation in going to any extent to help Basya fulfil his cinema dreams, is not conveyed effectively. Or, perhaps, I don’t get the attraction of being featured on Weekend With Ramesh.

As far as performances go, Chetan as Babu and Siddaraju as Basya, do justice to the roles. I’d seen Chetan in the Kannada mini-series Colors and liked how effective yet unassuming he was as a lower-middle-class man employed in a textile mill, who cannot distinguish colours. He carries that same body language, mannerisms and soft-spoken nature in Babu too. He as a character is relatable, his story is not.

Bayaluseeme Babu movie review: Chetan Kumar Dharmappa’s debut directorial attempts to be a testimony to the kindness and opportunities that Bengaluru presents. Whether or not you buy into that is very subjective. I did not, but you may!

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