Bachchhan Paandey is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Farhad Samji, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Arshad Warsi and Jacqueline Fernandez. Pankaj Tripathi, Prateik Babbar, Sanjay Mishra and Abhimanyu Singh play supporting roles. It is an official remake of the 2014 Tamil film Jigarthanda[7][8] which itself was inspired by the 2006 South Korean film A Dirty Carnival.[9][10] The film was released theatrically on 18 March 2022 and ended up being a box-office bomb.[11]

Bachchhan Paandey
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFarhad Samji
Written by
Based onJigarthanda by Karthik Subbaraj
Produced bySajid Nadiadwala
Starring
CinematographyGavemic U. Ary [1]
Edited byCharu Shree Roy
Music bySongs:
Amaal Mallik
B Praak
Vikram Montrose
Jaani
Roy
Score:
Julius Packiam
Production
company
Distributed byAA Films
Release date
  • 18 March 2022 (2022-03-18)[2]
Running time
146 minutes[3][4]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest. ₹180 crore[5]
Box office₹73.17 crore[6]

Plot

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Myra Devekar, a budding director, is given a task by a producer to come up with a gripping and violent gangster story to produce a film. To satisfy the producer's commercial outlook and her hunger for making a realistic film, she decides to study the life of a real-life gangster for the script. Her extensive research leads to menacing one-eyed Bachchhan Paandey of Baghwa, a ruthless gangster surrounded by quirky yet scary henchmen.

Myra travels to Baghwa where she meets her best friend Vishu and tells him about her film idea on Bachchhan. Vishu gets furious and asks her to leave but is later persuaded to help her with the film. Both Vishu and Myra start to target Bachchhan's henchmen in an effort to get closer to him. Virgin, one of the goons, tells them about his former girlfriend Sophie, who was killed by the former. Vishu and Myra plant a microphone in Virgin's mobile phone to eavesdrop on his conversations with Bachchan.

Later, it is revealed that Virgin was betraying Bachchhan for another criminal Rana Lohia, but is caught and killed by him. Vishu and Myra listen to the murder through the microphone, but are caught by Bachchhan's gang. Bachchhan sets out to kill Vishu and Myra, but agrees to spare them when he discovers that Myra is directing a gangster film, under the condition that he plays the protagonist of the film. Myra initially doesn't accept, but Bachchhan kidnaps her producer, and Myra is forced to listen to his backstory to develop the script.

In a flashback, Bachchhan works for a corrupt politician Laalji Bhagat. After a fallout, the politician gets Bachchhan's girlfriend Sophie killed. In retaliation, Bachchhan murders Bhagat in the hospital where he was admitted for a wound.

Bachchhan and his goons do not know how to act, so they learn through Bhavesh Bhoplo, an acting coach. Bhavesh hits, threatens, and humiliates Bachchhan and his henchmen, much to their chagrin. Nevertheless, Myra dissuades them from harming Bhavesh for the sake of the film. Bachchan and Myra soon develop feelings for each other.

The film is eventually completed and released in the theatres. Bachchhan and his goons initially get excited and promote the film named BP, thinking it to be the gritty gangster drama that it was marketed as. To their horror, the film turns out to be a comedy that portrays them negatively. On the other hand, Myra's film is proved to be a major success and gets praise from her media and her director who used to often criticize her a lot. Bachchhan and the goons decide to kill her for making his terror among the people vanish but later on refrain as Bachchhan has a change of heart when his mother calls him after ten years and he attracts a fan following.

Later on, Bachchhan becomes a star and Kaandi, Bachchhan's close goon, gives up his habit of watching porn films. Vishu gets a lead role in an unnamed film. Pendulum (Bachchan's goon) who was married to his girlfriend Pinky (thanks to Bachchan) opens a dairy farm with her after closing his bar. Bhavesh Bhoplo becomes the best acting teacher, Bachchhan gets recognized as the best comedy actor, and Myra as the best director. Bachchan quits being a criminal and becomes an actor.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Bachchhan Paandey was initially incorrectly reported to be a remake of the Tamil film Veeram (2014), which was later remade in Hindi as Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023).[16] Later sources reported that Bachchhan Paandey was actually a remake of the Tamil film Jigarthanda (2014).[8]

The title derives from a character of the same name, played by Kumar, in the 2008 actioner Tashan. The title was initially spelled Bachchan Pandey but was later changed to Bachchhan Paandey.[17]

Filming

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Principal photography of the film was initially scheduled to begin in May 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 lockdown in India.[18] Pre-production restarted in October 2020, and eventually the filming commenced on 6 January 2021 in Jaisalmer.[19][20][21] The film was wrapped up in July 2021.[22][23]

Music

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Bachchhan Paandey
Soundtrack album by
Released17 March 2022[24]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length17:55
LabelT-Series
ProducerBhushan Kumar
Official audio
Bachchhan Paandey – Full Album on YouTube

The film's music is composed by Amaal Mallik, B Praak, Jaani, Vikram Montrose and Roy while lyrics are written by Kumaar, Jaani, Farhad Bhiwandiwala, Vikram Montrose and Azeem Dayani. The film's background score is composed by Julius Packiam.[24] The song "Saare Bolo Bewafa" and "Meri Jaan Meri Jaan" gained popularity.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Maar Khayegaa"Farhad Bhiwandiwala, Vikram Montrose, Azeem DayaniVikram MontroseFarhad Bhiwandiwala, Vikram Montrose3:18
2."Meri Jaan Meri Jaan"JaaniB PraakB Praak4:08
3."Saare Bolo Bewafa"JaaniJaaniB Praak3:46
4."Heer Ranjhana"KumaarAmaal MallikArijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal4:00
5."Whistle Theme"InstrumentalRoyInstrumental2:43
Total length:17:55

Release

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Theatrical

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In July 2019, Bachchhan Paandey was announced with the release date of Christmas 2020.[25] However, it was later pushed to 22 January 2021 due to Aamir Khan's request to avert clash with Laal Singh Chaddha.[26] As the COVID-19 delayed production, it was postponed to 26 January 2022 and then to 4 March 2022. The film was finally released theatrically on 18 March 2022, Holi.[2]

Home media

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The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 15 April 2022 while the satellite rights were acquired by Zee Cinema.[27]

Reception

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Box office

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Bachchhan Paandey earned ₹13.25 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 12 crore. On the third day, the film collected 12 crore, taking total domestic weekend collection to 37.25 crore.[6]

As of 24 March 2022, the film grossed ₹59.5 crore in India and ₹13.67 crore overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of ₹73.17 crore.[6] The film faced heavy competition from The Kashmir Files, which was released one week earlier, and caused it to tumble at the box office.[28]

Bachchhan Paandey made on a budget of around ₹180 crore, recovered ₹115 crore from non-theatrical revenues, and the remaining ₹65 crore was recovered from the boxoffice gross.[5]

Critical response

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Upon release, Bachchhan Paandey received mixed reviews from critics. A critic from Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Bachchhan Paandey is a must watch for the fans of Akshay Kumar and masala cinema."[29] Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and called it "a chaotic mess of quirky and clichéd characters".[30]

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Bachchhan Paandey is a bewildering melee of a film in which the fundamental cinematic principles have been mercilessly mauled. It rides solely and squarely on the starry, over-the-top presence of Akshay Kumar."[31] Sonil Dedhia of News18 reviewed the film and opined "Arshan Warsi and Kriti Sanon are the only saving graces of this otherwise shoddy movie. The film arbitrarily packs in elements of every genre without actually bothering to stop and see if the mix does work and ends up like an overcooked stew."[32]

Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express rated the film 1/5 star and highlighted "Nothing about this Akshay Kumar-Kriti Sanon film reaches the level of hilarity plus inspired lunacy of the original, Jigarthanda."[33] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu reviewed the film and opined "Director Farhad Samji has imbued Karthik Subbaraj’s dark-shaded quirky Tamil comedy with the soul of a Sajid Khan film... and the result is underwhelming. A laboured adaptation of ‘Jigarthanda,’ the film misses the target."[34]

Monica Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times termed his review as "Bachchhan Paandey, as a whole, is a masala flick, which Akshay Kumar fans can't complain about. But, with an interesting plot at hand, it could have been much better."[35] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the film 2.6 out of 5 stars and wrote "Bachchhan Panday is a case of opportunity missed. It survives because of Akshay and Kriti. Both deserve to be cast in a better film together."[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Bachchan Pandey: Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon begin shoot; check first day pics and videos". India TV News. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Akshay Kumar starrer Bachchan Pandey to release on March 18, 2022; new posters unveiled". Bollywood Hungama. 18 January 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  3. ^ "BREAKING: Bachchhan Paandey cleared by CBFC with U certificate and". Bollywood Hungama. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Certificate Detail". Central Board of Film Certification. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Bachchhan Paandey Box Office Estimate Day 2: Steady on Day 2; to end the day with Rs. 13 crores". Bollywood Hungama. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Bachchhan Paandey Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Bachchan Pandey Moves From Veeram To Base Its Story not On Jigarthanda Now". ZEE5 News. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Not Akshay Kumar's 'Bachchan Pandey' but Salman Khan's 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali' to be remake of Ajith's 'Veeram'?". Daily News & Analysis. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Southern movies inspired without credit – here's the list". 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Revealed: Why Indian filmmakers love South Korean films". 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Akshay Kumar admits he's disappointed about Bachchhan Pandey's box office: 'Would have liked it to do better'". The Indian Express. 26 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  12. ^ "JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ JOINS AKSHAY KUMAR AND KRITI SANON IN SAJID NADIADWALA'S GANGSTER DRAMA BACHCHAN PANDEY". Mumbai Mirror. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon starrer 'Bachchan Pandey' goes on floors in Jaisalmer". Daily News & Analysis. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Abhimanyu Singh to play the antagonist in Akshay Kumar starrer Bachchan Pandey". Bollywood Hungama. 30 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  15. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Snehal Daabbi to play hardcore villain in Bachchan Pandey; speaks highly of Akshay Kumar and remembers their viral, funny scene in Deewane Huye Paagal". Bollywood Hungama. 6 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Akshay Kumar Starrer Bachchan Pandey Not A Remake Of Veeram Anymore". Outlook. 8 February 2020. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Akshay Kumar's 'Bachchan Pandey' now called 'Bachchhan Paandey', makers drop new poster". DNA India. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Bachchan Pandey: Akshay Kumar-Kriti Sanon's film to kickstart in January next year". India TV News. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  19. ^ "'Bachchan Pandey': Akshay Kumar and Kriti Sanon starrer goes on floors with a muhurat shot". The Times of India. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Bachchan Pandey' Goes On Floors". News 18. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Akshay Kumar-starrer Bachchan Pandey goes on floors". Outlook India. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Akshay Kumar starts shooting for 'Bachchan Pandey', drops first look as gangster". newindianexpress.com. 7 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Akshay Kumar to shoot final scene of Bachchan Pandey with 200 artists". Bollywood Hungama. 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Bachchhan Paandey – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jiosaavn. 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  25. ^ Kumar, Akshay [@akshaykumar] (26 July 2019). "Coming on Christmas 2020! In & As #BachchanPandey 😎 In #SajidNadiadwala's Next, directed by @farhad_samji @NGEMovies @WardaNadiadwala https://t.co/ayMkzwPEsJ" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Bachchan Pandey gets fresh release date. Akshay Kumar announces with new look". India Today. 27 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Akshay Kumar starrer Bachchhan Paandey to be released on Amazon Prime Video on April 15". Bollywood Hungama. 12 April 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  28. ^ Mathur, Abhimanyu (26 March 2022). "The Kashmir Files' box office success decoded: How news, social media, word of mouth scripted an unlikely success story". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Bachchhan Paandey Movie Review". Bollywood Hungama. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.     
  30. ^ Kotecha, Ronak (18 March 2022). "Bachchhan Paandey Movie Review : A chaotic mess of quirky and clichéd characters". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.     
  31. ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (19 March 2022). "Bachchhan Paandey Review: Demo On How Not To Make A Film Rides On Akshay Kumar's Over-The-Top Presence". NDTV. Retrieved 20 November 2024.     
  32. ^ Dedhia, Sonil (18 March 2022). "Bachchan Pandey Movie Review: Arshad Warsi Is Real Treat to Watch in Akshay Kumar Starrer". News18. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  33. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (19 March 2022). "Bachchhan Paandey movie review: Akshay Kumar film is too much pain with zero gain". Indian Express. Retrieved 20 November 2024.     
  34. ^ Kumar, Anuj (20 March 2022). "'Bachchhan Paandey' movie review: A laboured adaptation of 'Jigarthanda,' this Akshay Kumar flick misses the target". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  35. ^ Rawal Kukreja, Monica (18 March 2022). "Bachchhan Paandey movie review: Fierce Akshay Kumar, charming Kriti Sanon barely save a film riddled with cliches". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  36. ^ Sharma, Devesh (22 March 2022). "Bachchhan Paandey Movie Review". Filmfare. Retrieved 20 November 2024.     
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