'Baby Do Die Do' review: Huma Qureshi's noir triumph earns 4.5 stars
Synopsis
'Baby Do Die Do' is the Bollywood noir that critics have been waiting for — a rain-drenched, revenge-fuelled thriller built around Huma Qureshi's most demanding and most accomplished performance yet. Director Nachiket Samant and composer Arjun Iyer have crafted something genuinely singular, and it earns every fraction of its 4.5 stars.
Key Takeaways
Baby Do Die Do releases on 2 July , directed by Nachiket Samant and rated 4.5 stars .
Huma Qureshi plays Baby Karmarkar , a deaf-and-mute hitwoman on a twenty-year revenge mission in Mumbai .
The film co-stars Seema Pahwa , Chunky Pandey , and Sikandar Kher , with music by Arjun Iyer and a track by Mohit Chauhan .
Cinematographer Tojo Xavier 's moody, textured visuals are central to the film's distinctive look.
Producer Saqib Saleem backed the project; critics place the film alongside Sriram Raghavan 's work in the Bollywood noir canon.
Baby Do Die Do, directed by Nachiket Samant and released on 2 July, is a rain-soaked Bollywood noir that earns its 4.5-star rating by refusing to look, sound, or feel like anything else in recent Hindi cinema. Starring Huma Qureshi, Seema Pahwa, Chunky Pandey, and Sikandar Kher, the film is a rare genre exercise that lands every note it attempts.
The Story at Its Core
At the centre of the film is Baby Karmarkar, a deaf-and-mute hitwoman navigating an overcrowded Mumbai. Her origin is rooted in personal tragedy — the murder of her sister — which sets her on a decades-long hunt for the killer and pulls her into the orbit of the city's real-estate mafia. She carries a gun concealed inside an umbrella and systematically eliminates targets on behalf of her handlers, mostly ordinary men who stand in the wrong way.
The tension escalates the moment she is assigned a target of consequence. Her carefully constructed double life — violent by profession, quietly yearning for normalcy — begins to fracture. A tender love angle, underscored by a memorable track from Mohit Chauhan, gives her something worth protecting. It is precisely that vulnerability which finally closes the loop on her twenty-year search for revenge.
Huma Qureshi Delivers a Career-Best Performance
Huma Qureshi carries the film on her shoulders in what is, without qualification, the role of her career. Stripped of dialogue by the character's condition, she communicates love and lethal intent through her eyes alone — a performance of extraordinary physical and emotional precision. The supporting ensemble, including Chunky Pandey, Sikandar Kher, Seema Pahwa, Rachit Singh, Marudhar Shekhawat, and Arun Kushwaha, each hold their own, lending the story genuine texture and weight.
Craft: Music, Camera, Direction
Composer Arjun Iyer delivers a propulsive, inventive score — each track landing with escalating impact and perfectly calibrated to the film's register of dangerous quirk. Cinematographer Tojo Xavier's work is immediately arresting: moody, textured, and indispensable to the film's singular visual identity. Director Nachiket Samant plays everything bold and expressive, never hedging on the narrative's more audacious choices. Producer Saqib Saleem deserves credit for backing a project this unconventional.
Where It Stands in Bollywood Noir
The particular blend of high-stakes menace and offbeat wit that Baby Do Die Do sustains is a register few Hindi filmmakers have successfully inhabited — Sriram Raghavan being one of the rare exceptions. The film does not merely nod at noir conventions; it inhabits them with confidence and then bends them to its own rhythm. Rains, mood, music, revenge, and love converge into something emphatically not-seen-before in recent Bollywood.
Point of View
Or whether Saqib Saleem's gamble remains an outlier. If the box office responds, it could quietly shift what Hindi cinema considers viable in the thriller space.
NationPress
2 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'Baby Do Die Do' about?
'Baby Do Die Do' follows Baby Karmarkar, a deaf-and-mute hitwoman in Mumbai who works for the city's real-estate mafia while secretly hunting the killer of her sister. When a job gone wrong threatens the one loving relationship in her life, her twenty-year quest for revenge reaches its conclusion.
Who stars in 'Baby Do Die Do'?
The film stars Huma Qureshi in the lead role, supported by Seema Pahwa, Chunky Pandey, Sikandar Kher, Rachit Singh, Marudhar Shekhawat, and Arun Kushwaha. It is directed by Nachiket Samant and produced by Saqib Saleem.
How has 'Baby Do Die Do' been received by critics?
The film has received strong critical praise, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars. Reviewers have highlighted Huma Qureshi's performance, Arjun Iyer's score, and Tojo Xavier's cinematography as standout elements, with the film described as unlike anything Bollywood has produced in recent memory.
Who composed the music for 'Baby Do Die Do'?
The score is composed by Arjun Iyer, with a notable track performed by Mohit Chauhan. Critics have praised the music as integral to the film's mood and pacing.
How does 'Baby Do Die Do' compare to other Bollywood noir films?
Reviewers have placed it in the company of films by Sriram Raghavan as one of the rare successful entries in the Bollywood noir genre. Its combination of quirk, menace, and emotional depth is considered unusually accomplished for mainstream Hindi cinema.
