Khan replaces Abhishek Bachchan from the original, while Mukerji reprises her role.
Initially planned for release in June 2020 and then in April 2021, the film was postponed on both occasions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[7] It was finally released theatrically on 19 November 2021 to negative reviews.[1]
Plot
Sixteen years have passed since Rakesh Trivedi and his wife Vimmi Saluja Trivedi retired from conning others with the brand "Bunty Aur Babli" for money, having been let go by DCP Dashrath Singh.
A businessman named Chaddha, as well as his rich affiliates, decide to invest money in a "party nation" by Chaddha's assistant and his friend. However, it soon turns out that Chaddha and his associates have been conned, and the culprits, revealed to be Kunal Singh and Sonia Rawat, decide to take on the pseudonym "Bunty Aur Babli", having heard stories of the original "Bunty Aur Babli" who were never caught, assuming that they would be able to escape from the clutches of the law, too. Rakesh has since become a railway ticket collector at Phursatganj, Uttar Pradesh and Vimmi, a homemaker who looks after her now grown up son, Pappu. Pretty soon, they are holed up by the police, whence Inspector Jatayu Singh, who previously served as JCP Dashrath's junior, refuses to take their word for it after confronting them with the "Bunty Aur Babli" fiasco, and keeps them under prison surveillance. Despite these efforts, however, Varanasi's Mayor Chutvaa Chaubey is conned by "Bunty Aur Babli" yet again, albeit on a good note for a social cause. Nonetheless, a fuming Rakesh and Vimmi decide to find out whoever is misusing their identity and capture the flag, claiming that they are the real players. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game and, later as the duo discover Kunal's and Sonia's identity, a war between the two con-couples, which culminates in a con job in Abu Dhabi.
Cast
Saif Ali Khan as Rakesh "Bunty" Trivedi/Bobby Bhullar
Rani Mukerji as Vimmi "Babli" Saluja Trivedi/Cutie Bhullar
The film was announced as a spiritual sequel to the 2005 film in December 2019 by Yash Raj Films. Siddhant Chaturvedi and newcomer Sharvari Wagh were chosen as the younger leads of the film.[8] While both Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan were asked by Yash Raj Films to reprise their roles, Bachchan was unable to confirm, leading to Saif Ali Khan being cast opposite Mukerji.[9]
Release
The film was announced on 17 December 2019 and filming started on the same day.[10][11] Although scheduled for theatrical release on 26 June 2020,[12] the release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed] The film was wrapped up in September 2020.[13] The release was postponed due to Coronavirus second wave.[7] It was released theatrically on 19 November 2021.[1]
Reception
Critical response
Upon release, Bunty Aur Babli 2 received negative reviews from the film critics.[14][15] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10.[16]
Karishma Shetty of Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 is a cinematic heist that we didn't sign up for but the scene-stealing cast reels you in and are successfully able to scam you out of your hard-earned money for a one-time movie ticket and popcorn.’’[17] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times described the film as a ‘‘snooze-fest’’ and wrote, ‘‘Rani Mukerji is the saving grace in this snooze-fest, don't watch even if paid for it.’’ She called it a ‘‘terribly-written and poorly-executed film’’ and further wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 had all the right ingredients to serve a perfect dish, but too much mixing left it with no great after taste.’’[18] Shalini Langer from The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘Director Varun V. Sharma doesn’t think Rani Mukherji-Saif Ali Khan are enough to repeat the success of the original, so he keeps falling back on Siddhant and Sharvari, who are not bad but nothing we haven’t seen before. However, his bigger crime is reducing the original Bunty and Babli to colorful, atrocious parodies of their selves.’’[19] Ronak Kotecha from The Times of India gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 had an exciting premise to revive the two iconic characters, but this sequel feels like quite a con-job in comparison with its original.’’[20]Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV gave the film a rating of 2/5 and wrote, ‘‘Comic timing comes easy to Rani and Saif; They are saddled with wisecracks that are devoid of wisdom. Siddhant and Sharvari, who don a variety of guises, make an enthusiastic screen pair; But the script plays spoilsport."[21]Anupama Chopra of Film Companion wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 has a repetitive plot and forgettable dialogues; Few of the jokes land and the ease with which the cons are pulled off becomes, beyond a point, plain silly.’’[22]
Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 1.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 is a poor show and no way close to the first part.’’ They praised the performances of Chaturvedi and Wagh, but criticized Mukerji and Khan's performance by stating, ‘‘Rani Mukerji is too loud and over the top and is not in sync with her character in the first half; Saif Ali Khan is not in a great form and its pretty shocking since he's known to ace in all kinds of genres. Siddhant Chaturvedi leaves a mark and proves that he's a hero material and Sharvari Wagh makes a confident debut and looks sizzling.’’[23] Devansh Sharma of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 2/5 and wrote, ‘‘Bunty Aur Babli 2 is sincere in its attempt to keep the brand alive and continue the narrative organically; But it chooses to ignore all the signs, all the red flags, and decides to cover them up under a flashy exterior. It touches upon the pros and cons of conning in the age of internet and social media, but only superficially. It also comments on the unsuccessful attempts at Ganga rejuvenation by the current government, but never takes a dive into it.’’[24]
Box office
Bunty Aur Babli 2 earned ₹2.60 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day and ₹8.30 crore in its opening weekend.[4]
As of December 16, 2021, the film has earned ₹14.88 crore in India and ₹7.24 crore overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹22.12 crore.[4]
