Baby John (film)

Baby John is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Kalees and produced by Atlee, Murad Khetani and Jyoti Deshpande under Jio Studios, Cine1 Studios and A for Apple Productions. It stars Varun Dhawan in the eponymous role alongside Keerthy Suresh (in her Hindi film debut), Jackie Shroff and Wamiqa Gabbi, with Sanya Malhotra in a special appearance. The film is a remake of Atlee's Tamil film Theri (2016).

The film was announced in July 2023 with the working title VD18, marking Dhawan's 18th film in a lead role. The official title was announced in February 2024. Principal photography began in August 2023 and ended in April 2024. Filming locations include Mumbai and Kerala. The technical crew consists of musician Thaman S (in his full-fledged Hindi music debut), editor Ruben and cinematographer Kiran Koushik.

Baby John was scheduled to release on 31 May 2024 but it has now been postponed to 25 December 2024.

Premise
Baby John, a former police officer, fakes his death and goes into hiding as a baker to bring up his daughter in a safe environment, but trouble ensues when their life gets threatened by Baby John's past enemies and Baby John must face his past to protect his daughter.

Cast

 * Varun Dhawan as Baby John
 * Keerthy Suresh
 * Wamiqa Gabbi
 * Jackie Shroff
 * Sanya Malhotra
 * Rajpal Yadav
 * Sheeba Chaddha
 * Jaffer Sadiq
 * Raghav Binani

Development
In late April 2020, it was reported that Varun Dhawan was approached to play the lead role in the official Hindi remake of Theri (2016). However, it was undisclosed whether Atlee, the director of the original film, would direct the venture or give the role to someone else. Reportedly, the director had met the actor in Mumbai during 2019 to discuss the possibilities of a possible collaboration in the near future. In March 2022, the production for the project was reported to begin soon as Dhawan had reportedly completed his consisting commitments. According to reports, Atlee and Dhawan met again to finalise the project. On 19 March, the collaboration of both was publicly announced. Tentatively titled as VD18, instead of directing it, Atlee was revealed to produce the project under his house A for Apple Productions, along with Murad Khetani's Cine1 Studios. Kalees, who is a former assistant of Atlee and the director of the 2019 techno-thriller film Kee, was hired to direct the project. The official title Baby John was announced on 5 February 2024.

Casting
Janhvi Kapoor was reported to play the lead actress role, pairing opposite Varun for the second time after Bawaal (2023). However, Keerthy Suresh was confirmed to have replaced the former (in her first Hindi film). She would reportedly receive a remuneration of inr 30000000 and reprise Samantha's role in the original film. Wamiqa Gabbi was cast to reprise the role of Amy Jackson. Jackie Shroff was cast to play the main antagonist, reprising the role of late Mahendran. Sanya Malhotra (billed as a special appearance as prospective bride of Varun, reprising the role of Sunaina), Rajpal Yadav and Sheeba Chaddha was cast to play pivotal roles. Salman Khan is also reported to appear in a cameo action scene ahead of his full film collaboration with Atlee.

Filming
Principal photography commenced with an inaugural puja ceremony, of which video was released by the production house on 14 January 2024 – occasion of Makar Sankranti, and first schedule on 10 August 2023 in Mumbai. On 7 September, Dhawan stated that he injured his foot during filming, which caused it to be put on hold, and it ultimately began on the 12th of that month. Gabbi began filming her portions from 15 December, with production moving to somewhere near Kerala. On the 23rd, filming was put on hold again, due to Dhawan getting injured again. On 27 December, Dhawan, through his social media's, revealed that the first schedule had concluded.

Music
Thaman S composed the soundtrack and background score, in his first solo Hindi film.

Release
In July 2023, it was announced that the film was planned to be released on 31 May 2024, but it was later postponed to 25 December 2024.