<p>Bunty Aur Babli 2</p>.<p>Hindi (Theatres)</p>.<p>Director: Varun V Sharma</p>.<p>Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sharvari Wagh</p>.<p>Rating: 2/5</p>.<p>Unlike many successful sequels in recent times, 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' (BAB2) falls flat under the weight of its own expectations. It lacks all the ingredients needed for a future franchise – clever writing, original humour, crisp editing and a brisk narrative.</p>.<p>The 2005 original, with the Bachchans (a casting coup of sorts as father and son appeared together on the big screen for the first time), Rani Mukerji and, for good measure, Aishwarya Rai (in the item number 'Kajra Re') had all these elements in abundance, thanks to the combined and complementary skills of writer Jaideep Sahni and director Shaad Ali</p>.<p>And some catchy songs (Gulzar) and toe-tapping music (Shankar-Ehsaan Roy) turned the original into a typical musical masala which grossed Rs 118crore at the box office.</p>.<p>Other comedy-cum-action sequels like 'Hera Peri', 'Dabangg', 'Golmaal' and 'Dhamaal' were equally successful along with mainstream commercial capers like 'Dhoom' and 'Mardaani' as the writers of these franchise came up with inventive plots, conceived smart screen plays and conjured thrilling action sequences.</p>.<p>And, in case of comedies, created naughty but loveable characters (like Johnny Lever as Boolah in 'Golmaal') and unleashed outlandish but original one-liners which had the audience laughing in the aisles (example, <span class="italic"><em>Abhi tak sabko nehlaya hai .. Ab sabko dhounga</em></span> in 'Dabangg'. So far I have bathed you, now I’m going to beat the hell out of you).</p>.<p>They packed punch and panache in parallel sub plots with characters adding a comic touch to the protagonist’s pursuits (for instance, Uday Chopra as Ali Akbar Fateh Khan in 'Dhoom').</p>.<p>The BAB2 sequel, by stark contrast, is a mere caricature of the original as director and screenplay writer Varun V Sharma is clearly out of depth. As such, what could have been a smart repackaging of the original turns into a parody.</p>.<p>The story set in the Hindi heartland, just like in the original, is plausible and takes the glorification of crime to its next logical level with a real con couple Kunal Singh (Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Sonia Rawat (Sharvari Wagh) trying to emulate the reel con couple (Saif Ali Khan replacing Abhishek Bachchan as Bunty and Rani Mukerji as Babli) in cheating people.</p>.<p>Enters inspector Jatayu Singh (Pankaj Tripathi reprising the role played by Amitabh Bachchan in the original) to catch the new fraudsters on the block.</p>.<p>What happens next and how does it all end? Watch the film if you want to get enlightened. But, at your own risk.</p>.<p>Seasoned actors like Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Pankaj Tripathi (stealing the show in a rustic role) and the refreshing youngster Siddhant Chaturvedi and promising debutant Sharvari Wagh perform with right earnest and honesty, but given the flimsy premise of the plot, they too collectively fail to save this project.</p>.<p>In the end, it looks like the Yash Raj Films have pulled off a ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ act on the audience. </p>
<p>Bunty Aur Babli 2</p>.<p>Hindi (Theatres)</p>.<p>Director: Varun V Sharma</p>.<p>Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sharvari Wagh</p>.<p>Rating: 2/5</p>.<p>Unlike many successful sequels in recent times, 'Bunty Aur Babli 2' (BAB2) falls flat under the weight of its own expectations. It lacks all the ingredients needed for a future franchise – clever writing, original humour, crisp editing and a brisk narrative.</p>.<p>The 2005 original, with the Bachchans (a casting coup of sorts as father and son appeared together on the big screen for the first time), Rani Mukerji and, for good measure, Aishwarya Rai (in the item number 'Kajra Re') had all these elements in abundance, thanks to the combined and complementary skills of writer Jaideep Sahni and director Shaad Ali</p>.<p>And some catchy songs (Gulzar) and toe-tapping music (Shankar-Ehsaan Roy) turned the original into a typical musical masala which grossed Rs 118crore at the box office.</p>.<p>Other comedy-cum-action sequels like 'Hera Peri', 'Dabangg', 'Golmaal' and 'Dhamaal' were equally successful along with mainstream commercial capers like 'Dhoom' and 'Mardaani' as the writers of these franchise came up with inventive plots, conceived smart screen plays and conjured thrilling action sequences.</p>.<p>And, in case of comedies, created naughty but loveable characters (like Johnny Lever as Boolah in 'Golmaal') and unleashed outlandish but original one-liners which had the audience laughing in the aisles (example, <span class="italic"><em>Abhi tak sabko nehlaya hai .. Ab sabko dhounga</em></span> in 'Dabangg'. So far I have bathed you, now I’m going to beat the hell out of you).</p>.<p>They packed punch and panache in parallel sub plots with characters adding a comic touch to the protagonist’s pursuits (for instance, Uday Chopra as Ali Akbar Fateh Khan in 'Dhoom').</p>.<p>The BAB2 sequel, by stark contrast, is a mere caricature of the original as director and screenplay writer Varun V Sharma is clearly out of depth. As such, what could have been a smart repackaging of the original turns into a parody.</p>.<p>The story set in the Hindi heartland, just like in the original, is plausible and takes the glorification of crime to its next logical level with a real con couple Kunal Singh (Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Sonia Rawat (Sharvari Wagh) trying to emulate the reel con couple (Saif Ali Khan replacing Abhishek Bachchan as Bunty and Rani Mukerji as Babli) in cheating people.</p>.<p>Enters inspector Jatayu Singh (Pankaj Tripathi reprising the role played by Amitabh Bachchan in the original) to catch the new fraudsters on the block.</p>.<p>What happens next and how does it all end? Watch the film if you want to get enlightened. But, at your own risk.</p>.<p>Seasoned actors like Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Pankaj Tripathi (stealing the show in a rustic role) and the refreshing youngster Siddhant Chaturvedi and promising debutant Sharvari Wagh perform with right earnest and honesty, but given the flimsy premise of the plot, they too collectively fail to save this project.</p>.<p>In the end, it looks like the Yash Raj Films have pulled off a ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ act on the audience. </p>