Review: Even Pankaj Tripathi Can't Save a Disappointing 'Bunty Aur Babli 2'

After subjecting oneself to the banality of a completely uncalled for sequel, this exercise of then writing about it is even more tiresome. Fatigue has already set in.

Is it possible to talk about Bunty Aur Babli 2 without speaking of its predecessor? No! If anything, this new instalment makes us yearn for the original even more. Especially when a forgettable tune plays onscreen and we reminisce about the old soundtrack which is still fresh in our heads.

Click on the player below for the full podcast.

Rani Mukerji’s jarring costumes remind us of how her collared short kurtis were all the rage. We see Saif Ali Khan’s Bunty and immediately crave for the familiar comfort of Abhishek Bachchan. Still, we make peace with it. Rani and Saif do manage to get their rhythm right like two consummate actors who know how to salvage a bad situation. However, the ones we don’t warm up to till the end are the new entrants in this Bunty Babli 'con'universe.

Siddhant Chaturvedi and Sharvari Wagh might be the young, better dressed, tech savvy swindlers but they stick out like sore thumbs in the easy-going small-town vibe of Phursatganj.

Our original tricksters had opted for a domesticated life when we last saw them. Now married, with a son who is a handful, they appear bored of their bovine existence. When Inspector Jatayu Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) traces them down Rakesh (Saif Ali Khan) and Vimmi (Rani Mukerji) are only too willing to take on the new claimants to the 'Bunty and Babli' title.

But is there any thrill in the chase? Hardly. Mediocre prosthetics, terrible wigs, and laboured accents don’t make for fun viewing. And such is the desperation to garner laughs that the film doesn’t even shy away from sexualising little kids! Pankaj Tripathi too can’t redeem things. He sleepwalks through the film and is made to enter and exit the narrative so abruptly that it feels like we are watching a different movie all together.

As one of the characters remarked, “Expired davaiyan sar dard ko bhi theek nahi karti (Expired medicines can’t even cure a headache).” Bunty Aur Babli 2 comes across as if it’s well past its best before date. For all the brouhaha about the new fraudster jodi, all we are left asking is, “But where are the laughs?” I didn’t go in with huge expectations but still came out disappointed. How’s that for a con job?