Baby Girl Review: Nivin Pauly's thriller drives audiences on a thrilling yet emotional journey with compelling performances

Baby Girl Story - A four-day-old infant from Good Shepherd Hospital has been reported missing. A unit of law enforcement under the command of SI Rakesh is soon tasked with this case, which has many suspects, including Sanal Mathew, a hospital attendant, and relatives of the baby's family. Can they find this baby? Who is responsible for this missing case?

Baby Girl Review - There was some anticipation for this Arun Varma directorial, mostly because Sanjay-Bobby penned the screenplay. As expected, the pair does not disappoint the audience in terms of the genre they tackle or the emotional depth provided by a well-written, compelling story. In addition to giving Nivin Pauly a strong start in 2026 and showcasing the performers in Sangeeth Prathap and Lijomol Jose, Baby Girl does succeed in maintaining the standards of Sanjay-Bobby's remarkable set of thrillers in Malayalam.

A newborn from Thiruvananthapuram city's Good Shepherd Hospital has gone missing on Christmas eve. Sanal Mathew, a hospital staff, is identified as one of the many suspects in the police team's inquiry, along with the baby's relatives. Before long, Sanal begins searching for those responsible on his own, concurrently with the police investigation. The main focus of this movie is who is accountable for the missing infant and what is the motive behind all these happenings. 

Like any other Sanjay-Bobby movie, Baby Girl raises the question of what is right and wrong—not solely in the context of our legal system, but also in various other circumstances. The film, which centres on motherhood, demonstrates the writers' extraordinary ability to delve into the most profound and unadulterated aspects of human emotions. In the meantime, Baby Girl candidly depicts every facets of familial relationships. For instance, the filmmakers show a brother willing to take any risk for the sake of the welfare of his long-estranged sister, while on the other side some of the close family members including the infant's father finds the baby to be a burden.

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It's reasonable to describe Baby Girl as a tightly packed thriller with all the typical elements, such a simple plot and decoys that tend to make the audience guess what will happen next for a while. What sticks out, though, is the filmmakers' ability to keep the audience interested with enough plausible story twists. 

The other thing that keeps this strong screenplay together is the performances. After Sarvam Maya's recent success, this movie is undoubtedly a fantastic place for Nivin Pauly to start in this year. In the interim, this film makes the viewers and his fans hopeful that he will continue to be a part of more of such films in the future. Being a protagonist who doesn't rise to the situation to be a typical 'hero' but rather to save his name, Nivin's performance as Sanal Mathew is undoubtedly uncomplicated.

The most noteworthy actors in this thriller are undoubtedly Lijomol and Sangeeth Prathap, who astound the audience with the emotional nuance they give the story as it develops. Sangeeth as Rishi evolves from a comedian to a talented performer who can effortlessly play any role, while Lijomol once again stands out her ability to connect with the audience. Mythili, Azees Nedumangad, and Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan all give impressive performances in the movie.

Baby Girl Verdict - Sanjay-Bobby's writing and the performances of Nivin Pauly, Sangeeth Prathap, and Lijomol Jose make Arun Varma's film an intriguing watch.