Baba(Rajnikanth), an avowed atheist, spends his time smoking beedis, drinking, hanging out with his friends and challenging the existence of a higher power. His mother(Sujatha), on the other hand, is a staunch devotee of Babaji, the saint who is supposed to be over 2000 years old and residing in the Himalayas. She is the only one who knows the divine secret behind Baba's birth and the ultimate destination of his life and so, lets him follow his own path in life. Baba falls for Chamundeswari(Manisha Koirala) and she reciprocates his love, while Lakshmi(Sangavi) silently pines for him. Baba's life takes a dramatic turn that forces him to reconsider his beliefs about God and his new powers bring him to the attention of the state's CM and the deputy CM(Ashish Vidyarthi).

While the story(by Rajnikanth) allows him to cover his beliefs, current issues, fans' expectations, etc, the most disappointing aspects of the movie are the screenplay(again by Rajnikanth) and the direction. Suresh Krissna, who exploited Rajnikanth so well in their previous outings Annamalai , Veera and Baasha , seems curiously out of his league here. While there are enough one-liners, catchphrases, gestures and philosophies thrown around by Rajnikanth, the way they have been picturised, except in a few scenes like Rajni's meeting with Ashish Vidyarthi during his meeting, doesn't embellish them enough. The poor graphics(in the volleyball sequence, for eg.) and unbelievable stunt sequences only make matters worse.

The lighthearted initial portions resemble Rajni's recent movies with the now-familiar mix of comedy, stunts and romance. Though sequences are inserted regularly to hint at the fact that Rajnikanth is no ordinary man, the first half is predominantly light. Rajni surprisingly stays in the background during the comedy, allowing Koundamani to take charge. There are none of Rajni's trademark, extended comedy sequences but Koundamani's loud comments are effective in raising laughs on a regular basis. The romance starts off nicely in a comic fashion, with Rajni treating Manisha as a porter, but the track doesn't seem to have been exploited enough.

The movie takes a radical turn midway, and for awhile gives us the feeling of watching one of the old mythological movies. Rajni's new powers do provide the oppurtunity for some action and fun though they haven't been completely exploited. The ways the powers are tested, before Rajni turns into a believer, are intended for comedy but they are simplistic and not much fun, inspite of Ramya Krishnan's special appearance and the reference to Padaiyappa. The movie then alternates between the down-to-earth and the divine. Only the former manages to catch our interest, with the dialog between Rajnikanth and the Chief Minister in the car being one of the better scenes. The movie then begins to resemble a Rama.Narayanan movie with the yagna by the evil priest and the climactic song in the temple.

The ending itself is quite open-ended and provides no closure as far as the villains go. But it has been picturised well, especially with respect to the lines selected from an earlier song. And if it reflects Rajni's thoughts about his future in real life, it is likely to provide a lot of cheer to his fans.

Rajnikanth has aged quite visibly and the fact is also evident from the lack of speed during the dance sequeunces and the obvious, extensive use of stunt doubles in the fight sequences. But his characteristic dialog delivery and unique styles are catchy as ever. Manisha looks much better than she did in her last Tamil film Mudhalvan but expectedly has nothing much to do. Sangavi, inspite of being the second heroine, doesn't get even a duet with Rajnikanth and this marks the second time(after Panchathanthiram ) where she has a miniscule role. Japanese girl Keiko Yamata, supposedly inserted to capitalise on Rajni's popularity in Japan, is another wasted character who is on screen for probably 10 minutes total. Ashish Vidyarthi comes dangerously close to overacting while senior artistes like Nambiar, Sujatha and Vijayakumar are adequate. A.R.Rahman's mediocre tunes are improved tremendously by the lyrics in all the songs. Dipu Dipu..., Maya Maya... and Sakthi Kodu... all fall in this category. Baba Kichukichu... features some impressive locales and costumes but Prabhu Deva's dance steps prove too much for Rajnikanth and invoke guffaws.