Bollywood stars Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh stopped by in Dubai on Saturday to talk about their latest action film Baby John. Accompanying the duo were Atlee and his wife Priya, who are jointly credited as producers. Directed by Kalees, Baby John is an adaptation of Atlee’s own 2016 Tamil-language action drama Theri, in which the protagonist strives to shield his young daughter from antagonistic forces from his past who are hungry for vengeance.
The release of a Hindi film adaptation of a successful maximalist regional blockbuster wouldn’t make anyone bat an eye a decade ago. However, as an increasing number of South Indian films continue to break linguistic barriers and find success across India, is such a thing necessary in 2024?
“Absolutely,” says Atlee, who goes by just one name. And, he tells The National he's got a strong reason to back his answer.
“If violence against women wasn’t a thing anymore, we wouldn’t need another run at this narrative,” he says.
Atlee’s dogged determination to return to a socio-political commentary against misogyny checks out. His 2023 Hindi-language directorial venture Jawan, which marked his Bollywood debut, starred Shah Rukh Khan as Azad, a jailer of a women’s prison who runs a vigilante group targeting the rich and powerful. The group is made up of falsely incarcerated women in the prison where he works, each broken by misogyny, systemic corruption or class-discrimination of various kinds.
“We live in a generation where we’re momentarily enraged by the headlines we read in the dailies, and our way of processing it starts and ends with either a post or tweet on social media,” Atlee adds. “What if it happened to someone close to us? Wouldn’t we want to feel an earnest need to fight; to get some justice?”
To adapt Theri eight years later, if only for his message to have a wider reach, was the easiest decision to make, he says. “It made me strongly feel that the story is still as relevant now as it was then.”
Dhawan, who’s fresh out of his biggest project so far – Amazon action series Citadel: Honey Bunny, an Indian spin-off to the Russo brothers’ mainline series Citadel – admits he found the physicality he had to commit to in Baby John relatively more challenging.
“When I stepped into this world, I thought I knew what I was getting into; that I’ve seen films of this kind. But it’s only when I did the work that I found out how tricky it was to balance a movie with a plethora of genres and feelings," says the Bollywood actor.
The October actor cites Atlee’s dependability and work ethic as the main reason he knew the adaptation would be completed and released. “Atlee told me he wouldn’t be doing anything else while he was focused on the film, and it felt like a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of things I’ve heard in my time in the industry.”
He gets refreshingly candid as he adds: “I know it sounds like I’m venting, but I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’ve been promised a host of things before the film went on floors. If the film did go on the floor, the promise would fade and the producers would disappear in the background. Any time they’re in public or on set, it’s more of a photo op. Otherwise, nothing really moves beyond your standard ‘let’s put something together'.
“It was refreshing to see Atlee both stick to the promises he made when he first met me, and along with producers Muradbhai Khetani and Jyoti Deshpande, have been so hands on that it’s really helped shape the movie become what it is now.”
“Anytime Atlee sir needs me for any other project, I’m in. It’s how much I’ve come to admire the man.”
Dhawan’s co-star Suresh, best known for her South Indian films, makes her Bollywood debut in Baby John. For her, however, it felt no different to practicing her art form elsewhere. “Cinema, as a whole, is its own language,” the National Award-winning actress says. “And while there are obvious quirks for me, like understanding and thinking in a language I’m not used to, to get the character I essay just right, working here didn’t feel any different. It felt like home.”
One would expect the director of the sixth-highest grossing Indian film of all time globally to follow up with the announcement of a new directorial venture. For Atlee, whose Jawan earned about 11 billion Indian rupees ($136.5 million) on a budget of 3.5 billion rupees ($42 million), shifting to a producer felt like the wisest option. “I’m still looking for the right story to tell at the right time,” he says. “But I’m also not going to throw myself in limbo. Pivoting to production was the perfect decision to make.”
He fully credits his wife, Priya, for making his transition as smooth as possible. “I wouldn’t know head nor tail of the process of a producer if I didn’t have her by my side. She knows this to the T, and her headstrong decisions helped me know exactly how best to support the director and the crew.”
Priya is the co-founder of A for Apple Productions, and has, along with her husband, co-produced the Netflix supernatural thriller Andhaghaaram and Star Studios’ Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae, both in the Tamil language.
Was it more of a relief to throw himself into the logistical and financial responsibilities of a producer, or did he feel a certain pressure to hold on to the story he already journeyed through as a director eight years ago?
Atleee says he’s happy he could help pay it forward by giving someone he thought really deserves the chance instead.
“Kalees has been my best friend for 19 years now, and I really wanted this to also be his entry in Bollywood. I’m just content to help the people I love and see them flourish while I take a bit of a backseat," he says.
“I’m very confident in what we’ve created. I really think we’ve made something special that has what it takes.”
Baby John will be released globally on Wednesday
