Baba

The film opens with the birth of Baba, the reincarnation of a saint revered by Mahavatar Babaji. He grows up as an atheist and hotheaded youth, yet moments of kindness hint at a higher calling.

His mother and maternal uncle are ardent devotees of Mahavatar Babaji. Chamundeswari, who lives nearby and often quarrels with Baba, gradually falls in love with his fearless style.

Baba interferes with the sale of land, drawing the ire of Ippo Ramaswamy, the Deputy Chief Minister’s son. In retaliation, Ramaswamy demolishes Baba’s colony.

Before facing Ramaswamy, Baba’s mother urges him to stay calm. He decides to rebuild his community and takes a job as a labourer in a neighbour’s shop to earn money.

Chamundeswari’s mother threatens her daughter with death if she does not marry someone of status. Chamundeswari refuses to marry a daily labourer, and Baba realizes he would be answerable to a wife and children, prompting a heartbreak and breakup.

A dishevelled sadhu, Divyananda Bharathi, guides Baba toward enlightenment. In the Himalayas, Baba meets Mahavatar Babaji, who tests him by granting seven mantras (five in the remastered version) with a warning: using them for personal gain binds him to rebirth karma.

Back in Chennai, Baba tests the mantras on a kite and initially assumes it’s all coincidence. The miracles begin to unfold, but his skepticism remains.

On his uncle’s deathbed, the elder urges Baba to use a mantra to renovate his surroundings, fulfilling a prophecy. The fifth mantra triggers government renovation of Baba’s area, and he begins to reform, giving up alcohol.

Baba reserves the last two mantras for his mother. He uses the penultimate mantra to revive a newlywed Japanese neighbor fighting for life after food poisoning, showing the true reach of his powers.

Purushottaman, the current chief minister hopeful, wants to turn Baba’s boons into political advantage and threatens Baba’s mother. Ramaswamy learns of the mantras from Baba’s two-timing companion, complicating matters.

Baba’s friends urge him to use the final wish to become permanent CM, but he instead uses it to elevate Kanthan, an older, honest party member, to lead with a majority. This sets the stage for a clash with the ruling generation.

As the power struggle culminates, Guruji’s plan demands Baba’s necklace and backbone to be used against him. Baba’s mother is mortally wounded, and he is knocked unconscious as villains set a fire, only to be thwarted by a temple elephant; Divyananda Bharathi intervenes to stop him and the trauma of family loss weighs on him.

Just as Baba prepares to ascend the Himalayas, Kandhan is assassinated by Ippo Ramasamy’s son, prompting a change of heart. Baba decides to stay in Tamil Nadu and continue serving the people rather than pursuing withdrawal from the world.

In the original ending, Baba remains in Tamil Nadu, living among the people and guiding them. The 2022 re-release adds an epilogue where Mahavatar Babaji tells him he must serve his mother, hints at a future reincarnation, and suggests he will eventually return to the Himalayas.

The re-release reinforces that Baba would be reincarnated to the same mother before he can return to the Himalayas, underscoring the central importance of filial duty over worldly power.