I think the very core of tradition and the idea of respecting elders’ opinions to the point of blindly following their wishes just to please them are deeply flawed. We have seen how often the younger generation suffers greatly because their parents want them to marry a certain person or pursue a particular career, just so they can boast about their children. This theme is beautifully captured in the Malayalam movie O. Baby, set in a beautiful jungle area around Devil Hill. The story is about a proud landlord Pappy who sticks to old traditions, even if it hurts his own family! O. Baby, the chief enforcer of the forest, and his kids suffer because of these outdated customs. The landlord’s granddaughter, Mini, falls in love with O. Baby’s son, Basil. But there’s a big clash between the master and servant families, where politics and pride are more important than the kids’ happiness! The main villain in the story is Stanley, Pappy’s son Kuttachan’s son-in-law, who schemes to kill O. Baby and take control of the jungle. Will Stanley succeed in his plan? And what will happen to the innocent love between Mini and Basil? These questions and more are answered in this thrilling explainer of O. Baby.
Spoilers Ahead
What was the relationship between Mini and Basil?
The movie starts with the landlord’s elder granddaughter getting married, showing us how this family pressured their children for the sake of pride and family name. Mini’s elder sister didn’t want to marry the guy just because he was rich, lived abroad, and had a green card. She wanted to study and marry someone she truly loved. Mini tried to convince their parents for her sister’s sake, but they didn’t listen. They thought they knew better. After all, what did kids know about the world? The parents wanted security for their children rather than believing in the “stupid” idea of falling in love. So, to avoid humiliating her parents, Mini’s sister agreed to marry the guy. We saw how Mini and Basil, O. Baby’s son, knew how much she was against this marriage. They supported her to come out with the truth, but it all went to waste. Even O. Baby was upset. He had seen her grow up and practically raised her.
O. Baby was the chief enforcer of the forest and had been handling all kinds of dealings for the landlord, from hunting animals to organizing festivals and exporting forest goods. He had been doing this since his forefathers’ time and still worked for the same amount of money without any greed. His son Basil was upset that his father never asked for more, but O. Baby was happy with his peaceful life in the forest with his family. Basil helped his father’s work, not only by assisting the plantation workers but also by promoting the forest through Facebook Lives, letting more people know about their beautiful home. Basil planned a trek to Devil’s Hill with his friends, Mini, Sachi, and others from Facebook for a fun outing. But little did he know that Mini was in love with him. She visited their house often; they chatted all day and made posts, reels, and videos together, which was really beautiful. But Basil only saw her as a friend. O. Baby realized Mini was in love with Basil and wanted to keep them apart—not because he was against their love, but because he knew the politics around the forest area. If anything happened, the landlord might kick him out of the jungle. O. Baby even told Mini that Basil had COVID so she would stop coming to their house, but that didn’t change anything for Mini. She was really in love with Basil. Eventually, not only did O. Baby’s family know about it, but Mini’s family found out too!
What did they do to Baby?
Stanley was the archnemesis of Baby. He was the son-in-law of Kuttachan and wanted to be the king of the jungle. He desperately wanted the no man’s land in the Devil’s Hill area in his name and wanted to get Baby out of there. So when he found out about Mini and Basil being in love, what did he do? He told the Pappy about it. The landlord, Pappy, being the master, believed that his granddaughter just couldn’t fall in love with their servant’s son. He made sure that Baby suffered for it. He called Baby and told him to pack up his things and leave the jungle. His pride and arrogance blinded him, and he felt the innocent love of the two kids was disgraceful and humiliating to their family. He was willing to cut off their long-rooted family bond. Baby was upset and confronted his son about this. Basil had no idea about it and was shocked because he thought of Mini as a friend. But when he found out, he stood beside his father, stating that they were just as much the owners of this jungle and that nobody could throw them away like this. Baby realized that if they didn’t leave, they would actually try to harm him and his family. He was reluctant to let his son go on the trek with his friends, but he let them go anyway. But as they went, Baby was attacked by the landlord’s people. He tried hard to get rid of them and ran away. But then he heard a noise and went back, only to find out those attackers were killed by Stanley. But the news spread everywhere that Baby killed two men with his own hands. It was clear to all that since they couldn’t kill Baby, they were trying to paint him as a criminal so that he would be in police custody and his family would suffer. Both Basil and Mini realized that they had to pay the price for their young love.
What happened to Stanley?
After this incident, the police were everywhere trying to arrest Baby, so he went into the forest to hide. But Stanley was still determined to kill him. In exchange, he told the landlord that he wanted the Devil’s Hill 10-acre plantation in his name. The landlord agreed. So, with a gun, Stanley went to hunt down Baby in the forest. Basil knew something like this would happen, so he went after him but ran into Stanley, who attacked and severely injured him. Thank God Baby arrived in time to save his son! In anger, Baby attacked Stanley savagely. Everyone thought both Basil and Stanley were dead, but thankfully, they were alive. Despite saving Stanley’s life, the landlord was not thankful but spared Baby’s life anyway. But at the end, something strange happened.
In O. Baby‘s ending, we see that Pappy saying how he would be okay with the idea of his granddaughter being dead rather than accepting their love. So we see that even though the landlord’s family members respected and loved him, they were not okay with the idea that he was willing to kill Mini just because she fell in love with Basil. Mini’s grandfather, Kuttachan, was especially against this idea. He thought, They are just kids, right? Maybe eventually their love will fade away. There was no reason for this torment. So, out of anger, he killed his own father, but everyone thought it was a natural death. And you know what made me so happy at the end? Mini’s sister, the elder granddaughter, found the courage to stand up to everyone and tell them she wouldn’t marry the guy her family chose. She decided to study after all and marry the one she truly loved. No one should dictate whom she should love. I hope Mini found the courage to stand up against her family too. But it can’t be one-sided, right? I think her family members should also let go of their pride and support their kids’ wishes instead of being against them. After all, who are they to dictate who to love and who not to love, right?
