Archive · 1 Oct 2026
Baththa Review: Vijay Sethupathi Elevates a Humane Gangster Drama
Baththa is about a feared gangster who gets stuck inside a school toilet.
A young boy accidentally locks him there.
At first, Baththa seems frightening and powerful.
As the boy keeps visiting him, they slowly become friends.
Baththa begins to think about his family and the ordinary things he has lost.
The story shows that people can change when they experience kindness.
Vijay Sethupathi plays Baththa with both toughness and gentleness.
The review also praises the young actor Sai Abhyankkar.
It gives the film a rating of four out of five.
Set in 1986 Madras, Baththa follows feared gangster Baththa after a child accidentally traps him in a school restroom.
The film builds an unexpected friendship between Baththa and the timid eight-year-old boy who keeps returning to the locked room.
Vijay Sethupathi is praised for portraying Baththa’s shift from menace to vulnerability with conviction.
Young Sai Abhyankkar matches Sethupathi’s naturalism, while Lijomol Jose adds emotional weight to the family scenes.
The review praises the screenplay, music, cinematography, editing and production design, rating the film four out of five.
- Who
- Vijay Sethupathi plays Baththa, a feared gangster, while young Sai Abhyankkar plays the schoolboy who befriends him.
- What
- Baththa is a Tamil film about a gangster’s emotional transformation after he is accidentally trapped in a school restroom by a child.
- When
- The story is set in 1986.
- Where
- The film takes place in Madras, including a school and its deserted restroom.
- Why
- The story explores the value of ordinary things, the experience of kindness and the possibility of personal change.
- Director
- Balaji Tharaneetharan
- Lead actor
- Vijay Sethupathi
- Setting
- 1986 Madras
- Central relationship
- The unexpected friendship between Baththa and a young schoolboy
- Music
- Sai Abhyankkar
- Cinematography
- Selvakumar SK
- Rating
- 4/5