Film

Baby

Name: Baby
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: 2015
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Rana Daggubati, Danny Denzongpa

Other titles called Baby: the 2018 series (Netflix).

A slick Indian intelligence thriller about an elite covert ops team hunting terrorists across borders. Akshay Kumar leads a procedural-minded action film that trades spectacle for tradecraft: surveillance, infiltration, patience. It's for people who want their action films smart enough to breathe, their heroes competent enough to trust.

TMDb rating

3.4

If you liked this

Raees2017

Shah Rukh Khan as a smuggler cat-and-mouse with a determined cop. Same DNA as Baby—cat-and-mouse tension, moral ambiguity, a hero who isn't quite a hero. Taut, clever, genuinely suspenseful.

But The second half trades the elegant puzzle-solving for more conventional action beats. Some plot turns feel engineered rather than earned.

Special 262013

A heist film about a con so audacious it hinges on confidence and timing rather than explosions. The same satisfaction Baby gets from showing you a plan working—watching smart people outthink everyone else in the room.

But It's a one-idea film that doesn't deepen much beyond its central premise. Once you know the trick, some of the pleasure evaporates.

Andhadhun2018

A blind pianist caught in a murder he didn't commit. A thriller that actually surprises you—where the plot keeps turning, where nobody's quite who they seem. Tense, darkly funny, genuinely clever.

But The tonal shifts are extreme and not always graceful. It's also quite violent, and the violence isn't glossed over or justified.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Baby

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Mulk2018

Both examine state power and surveillance through India's terrorism framework, but Baby trusts the system while Mulk questions whether the system can be trusted with that power.

A courtroom drama about a Muslim family falsely accused of terrorism, forced to prove their patriotism to their own country. Same apparatus as Baby (intelligence, suspicion, national security) but inverted—examining the system from the accused's side, not the hunters'. A film about dignity under siege.

But It's didactic in places and the emotional beats are signposted clearly. If you want ambiguity and complexity, the film occasionally reaches for simplicity for its own clarity.

Natrang2010

A Marathi-language film about an aging theater actor who becomes obsessed with the role of his lifetime. Character study with real stakes, real consequence. What happens when obsession consumes everything.

But It's slow and meditative in ways that will feel glacial if you're coming for thrills. Subtitled, obviously. No action sequences whatsoever.

Gang of Ghosts2014

Emraan Hashmi and Ranveer Singh in a comedy-thriller hybrid that somehow juggles ghosts, crime, and genuine laughs. If you liked Baby's ensemble energy but want something lighter.

But The tone is all over the map. Some jokes land hard; others disappear into the ether. The ghost plot is genuinely silly.

Naam Shabana2017

Taapsee Pannu (from Baby) gets her own spy thriller as a female intelligence officer. More intimate than Baby, more focused. Shows the cost of the work on someone trying to lead a normal life.

But It's smaller and slower. If you want the big team energy and multiple moving pieces, this is solitary and introspective by comparison.

Sardar Udham2021

Vicky Kaushal as a revolutionary seeking revenge across continents. A period thriller with real weight, real fury. The cinematography is stunning and the performance is magnetic.

But It's a revenge film about historical violence, so the mood is dark and heavy throughout. Not a film that lets you up for air. Quite long at 162 minutes.

Holiday2014

Akshay Kumar again, this time as a former soldier pulled back into duty on his honeymoon. High-concept premise executed with real tension and paranoia. Compact and genuinely uneasy.

But The logic doesn't always hold up to scrutiny if you think too hard. Also leans into some uncomfortable gender dynamics that feel dated now.

Jungle2017

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a man lost in the Amazon trying to survive. A survival thriller with genuine dread. Quiet for long stretches, which makes the danger feel immediate and real.

But It's extremely bleak and offers no real comfort. Minimal dialogue, minimal plot—if you need something to happen every few minutes, this will test your patience.

The Lives of Others2006

Both films are about state surveillance and the hunter becoming hunted, but this one is entirely internal—the action happens in the watcher's soul, not on a screen.

A Stasi surveillance officer in Cold War Berlin watches an artist through hidden cameras. The opposite of Baby's kinetic action: it's almost entirely about watching, waiting, the moral rot of being complicit in total observation. Achingly human.

But It's slow and German and quiet. Almost no action. If you want plot momentum, this moves at the speed of someone's conscience waking up.

Sacred Games2018

Same Mumbai setting, same dance between cop and criminal, same sense that the city itself is the true character. But this is sprawling where Baby is focused, intimate where Baby is procedural.

A Netflix series about a cop and a gangster in Mumbai, chasing each other through the city's corrupted veins. Epic scope, brilliant casting (Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan), and genuinely stunning filmmaking. Season 1 is nearly perfect.

But It's 8 hours for the first season and requires serious commitment. Also gets markedly worse in season 2, so you're really signing up for just one season. Contains graphic violence and sexual assault.