Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukerji film outperformed by Sooryavanshi, earns Rs 2.6 cr

Judging by the first-day box office collection of Bunty Aur Babli 2, the comedy film has proved to be a damp squib. The film, starring Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Sharvari Wagh, earned Rs 2.60 crore on its opening day. The film was outperformed by Sooryavanshi, Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif’s blockbuster that was the first big-budget film to release after the second lockdown ended. Sooryavanshi has entered its third week at the box office.

A Varun V. Sharma directorial and an Aditya Chopra production, Bunty Aur Babli 2 is a sequel to the 2005 film that starred Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan. The film also features Pankaj Tripathi in the cast.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the film’s figures. He said in a tweet, “#BuntyAurBabli2 is dull on Day 1, despite getting a boost in #NorthIndia due to holiday… Needs miraculous growth on Day 2 and 3 to cover lost ground… Fri ₹ 2.60 cr. #India biz.”

The Indian Express film critic Shalini Langer gave the film 2.5 stars. She wrote, “Still, the film comes alive in parts. Especially between Saif and Rani, who are trying to kindle the old Bunty-Babli spark; between the two Buntys and Bablis as they try to outsmart each other; and between the lines when it surprisingly veers into political territory. Whether it’s the charade of clean Ganga, the game of renaming cities like Allahabad to Prayagraj, and the state of our system. An STF arriving late to the crime scene on bicycles and a bullock cart — well, we can’t say it is impossible.”

Trade analyst Girish Johar had earlier said the film will have a ‘decent’ opening. He said, “We are slowly limping back to normalcy, coming out of the pandemic, with the vaccination going in higher and the norms are being relaxed. Having seen that and the previous films (BellBottom, Sooryavanshi) also doing sufficiently well at the box office, I believe that the chance of Bunty Aur Babli 2 to do well is pretty much high at the box office. It all depends on the content, and how it is received, the reviews and feedback. Having said that, the trailer has generated much curiosity, and the first Bunty Aur Babli did pretty well.”