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Babita Singh Reporting review: Nimisha Sajayan delivers a powerful performance in this simple crime drama
Babita Singh Reporting Review: Nimisha Sajayan Is The Heart Of This Unassuming Crime Drama
Babita Singh ReportingU/A
2.5/5
Starring: Nimisha Sajayan, Anshuman Pushkar, Barun SobtiDirector: Ambiecka PanditPlatform: Prime Video
There is a scene in Babita Singh Reporting where Nimisha Sajayan’s Babita Singh, aka Baby, is enjoying a boating ride with her family and in-laws when her sister-in-law casually makes a body-shaming remark about her weight. It is said almost in passing, without anyone treating it as particularly offensive. And that is precisely what makes the moment work. It sets the tone for a story about how shaming women, whether for their bodies, choices or behaviour, can become so normalised in Indian households that it barely registers as cruelty.
Babita Singh Reporting, however, is about a lot more. It follows Baby, an ASI at a Bhopal police station who is constantly made to feel inadequate by the people around her. Her senior, played by Rajesh Kumar, routinely belittles her and exploits her need for approval. He makes her take the blame for things, asks her to shoot his social media reels and treats her like someone who should simply be grateful for his attention. Baby puts up with it because she desperately wants a transfer to an on-field posting. Her desire to prove herself makes her tolerate an unfair system that repeatedly takes advantage of her softer nature.
At home, things aren’t much better. Her husband is affectionate and seems to care for her, but he is also indifferent to the casual sexism around him. Baby’s in-laws constantly comment on her weight and question her physical abilities and mock her career. They assume she cannot run because she is overweight, speculate about possible medical problems and treat her body as something that needs to be explained or fixed.
Baby travels to Rewa for her sister-in-law’s godh bharai ceremony, where she reconnects with her childhood friend Bansi (Barun Sobti). Bansi is murdered that very night. What makes the tragedy more personal for Baby is that he had reached out to her earlier that night because he wanted to talk to her, leaving her with a lingering sense of guilt. She decides to find out who killed him, even as the people around her discourage her from getting involved.
The investigation gradually becomes a journey of self-discovery. As Baby digs deeper into Bansi’s murder, she also begins confronting the assumptions that have defined her own life. She may be constantly told that she is incapable, but when she is on the job, she proves to be far more capable and relentless than people give her credit for. The murder investigation brings out a side of Baby that even she perhaps hadn’t fully recognised.
That is where Babita Singh Reporting works best. It is not trying to reinvent the crime thriller or turn itself into a highly stylised mystery. Instead, it keeps returning to everyday realities: casual sexism, the abuse of power, the need for validation and the constant pressure on women to prove that they are capable. Baby’s struggle is not only about solving a murder. It is about finally recognising her own strength.
Bansi’s story also speaks of the film’s idea of unfulfilled desires. He had perhaps loved someone else but ended up marrying another woman, and his marriage leaves him vulnerable to exploitation. His circumstances reflect the same cycle that runs through the film: people wanting something they cannot have, making compromises because of their circumstances and, eventually, exploiting or being exploited by someone else. Poverty and abuse sit at the heart of this cycle, pushing people into choices that leave everyone wanting more but rarely getting it.
The film builds this journey rather nicely for most of its runtime. The storytelling is straightforward and, for the most part, effective because it does not try to do too much. However, the writing starts losing control towards the end. Too many developments are packed into the final stretch, with one incident following another. Some of these turns feel unlikely, while others seem unnecessary to the larger story.
Still, the film remains engaging largely because of Nimisha Sajayan. She is the heart and soul of Babita Singh Reporting. She portrays Baby’s helplessness, insecurity with as much conviction as she portrays her determination and strength. There is no dramatic switch between the two versions of Baby. Nimisha allows both sides to exist naturally.
Sunita Rajwar is effective as Baby’s mother-in-law, while Barun Sobti has relatively little to do as Bansi, but he makes an impression whenever he is on screen, bringing his usual screen presence to the role.
Babita Singh Reporting may stumble when it tries to tie everything together towards the end, but its simplicity is also its strength.
Quick Answers
Ask News18The film “Babita Singh Reporting” addresses casual sexism in Indian households by depicting instances such as Babita Singh’s sister-in-law making body-shaming remarks about her weight, and her in-laws constantly commenting on her weight, questioning her physical abilities, and mocking her career. Her husband, while affectionate, remains indifferent to this casual sexism.
Ask News18About the Author
Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment wo…Read More
August 27, 2026, 22:14 IST
