Ever watched a cop show and thought, ‘Please just let this woman catch a break?’ Well, Babita Singh Reporting has a cop who can’t even get leave from work without creating a whole new problem for herself.
Babita ‘Baby’ Singh (Nimisha Sajayan) is a police officer, but she is far from the chest-thumping, dialogue-baazi kind. She is the underdog in her own story, underconfident, constantly trying to keep everyone happy and, honestly, dealing with a work-life balance so terrible that getting suspended seems easier than applying for leave.
And then, of course, things get complicated.
Baby heads back home hoping for some family time, only for circumstances to pull her into an investigation of her childhood best friend Bansi’s (Barun Sobti) murder. But Babita Singh Reporting isn’t interested in giving us a straightforward cop-and-killer chase. The case is important, sure, but the bigger story is what happens to Baby when she is forced to stop being the person everyone expects her to be.
The best thing about the film is Nimisha Sajayan. Baby could have easily become the standard underdog cop who gets a dramatic transformation midway through the film and suddenly starts walking in slow motion while everyone around her applauds. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen.
Her growth is far more gradual. She is awkward. She hesitates. She doubts herself. And when she finally begins standing up for herself, it feels earned because the film has spent enough time showing us just how deeply that habit of people-pleasing runs.
The investigation and Baby’s personal journey work together surprisingly well. As she gets closer to understanding what happened, she also begins understanding herself a little better. It is a neat little trick by the film, using a crime mystery to tell the story of a woman finding her self-worth.
Not everything is spelled out, and that is where the film scores. It trusts the audience to notice the little things.
With Sudip Sharma onboard as executive producer, the show naturally carries the baggage of expectations that come with Paatal Lok and Kohrra. Thankfully, Babita Singh Reporting doesn’t try to become either.
The investigation is slow-burning, the atmosphere is grounded and the mystery keeps unfolding without turning into a checklist of suspects and shocking twists every 10 minutes. The film is more interested in people than grand reveals, and that works for most parts.
The pace can feel a little measured, but it never completely loses you. There is enough happening to keep you curious, while Baby’s personal story gives the investigation an emotional anchor.
At its core, the film is about a woman who has spent so much time adjusting herself for everyone else that she has forgotten what it feels like to take charge of her own life. The crime brings her to the centre of the story, but staying there is something she has to learn on her own. And that is why the film works.
It has the bones of a good whodunnit, but its real win is making you care about the person investigating it. You may start watching to find out what happened, but somewhere along the way, you end up wanting to see Baby finally stop saying sorry for taking up space.