Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji discuss Bunty Aur Babli 2, reuniting on-screen after 13 years-Entertainment News , Firstpost

Saif Ali Khan has this distinct memory of 2005 – released crime comedy Bunty Aur Babli (made under the Yash Raj banner) about the con couple trying to strike a deal with someone for selling the Taj Mahal! “Yes, those days I was doing other films of Yash Raj like Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum…these films were happening simultaneously and I knew about this really fun caper movie in which someone sold someone Taj Mahal and that was quite funny,” guffaws Khan, who steps into the shoes of Abhishek Bachchan in the second instalment of Bunty Aur Babli that hit theatres on Friday, 19 November. Khan picks up where Bachchan’s titular character left off in the sequel in which the whacky con couple have hung up their boots and are now leading a retired life in a small town called Fursatganj. While they are not conning people for a living anymore, they aren’t particularly content with their ‘boring’ life.

“I was told it is a different movie and it is not the same character (that Bachchan played). Aditya Chopra obviously knows what he is doing, so my character has been tweaked because I was playing it. If they were making with the original cast they would have gone into another direction but for some reason it didn’t work out.

And the direction they took was there is a guy who is over- the- hill, he has got a paunch, he is quite henpecked, senseless and he is living a slightly bored and mildly unhappy life. He loves drinking whisky while hiding from his wife, he dances at some kid’s mundan party which is the highlight of the year. There are a lot of people who are like that and I found it a very interesting part to play. You get the chance to play this slightly sad life who then in the second half becomes more energised and cool,” says Khan explaining his character.

Mukerji who reprises her character as Vimmi, calls herself the comedienne of the sequel. “I play a fashion queen, the diva of Fursatganj. I had to do a lot of comedy in the second part and now I am waiting for the audience’s reaction..let them tell me if I have played it well or not because comedy is such a genre where some may find it comic and the others may not. But I feel happy doing comic roles. My audiences haven’t seen me doing something light-hearted and fun for many years and they may like it. Shooting the film was a different kind of fun this time versus the first one. This film screams fun from the start. The scenes are so mad that you start smiling,” says the actress, who, in the recent past, was seen in some serious roles such as her portrayal of police officer Shivani Shivaji Roy in the Mardaani series.

Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji in Bunty Aur Babli 2 | Yash Raj Films

“I also like comedy and one of the nice things about the script is it is a family entertainer. The heroism and drama is all between husband and wife. During the lockdown I watched a few films with Taimur and Kareena (Kapoor-Khan) and it is a lovely feeling when you can safely watch a film without worrying about the content with your elders, youngsters.. it is a lovely bonding experience,” adds Khan. Further, elaborating upon her character, Mukerji says, “The welcome surprise is also the fact that Vimmi’s character graph, who was shown very beautifully in the first part, is a mother now. She still has that spark and spunk and that is what made her character a lot alive. For me, she has always been a very special character close to my heart in my career and I am so fortunate that I get to play her again after so many years.”

Khan may have played the urban, NRI-centric man in many rom-coms but he has also surprised one and all with his rustic act in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara. The actor says that he was looking forward to playing a character that is from the heartland. “With Yash Raj I have mostly done those upper-class, urban characters and I was looking forward to playing a character that is from the heartland, from a small town ..this role of a middle-class guy who has got his own struggles in a very different way. I thought the film industry is headed in that direction, people are playing roles like this and I was hoping I would get a chance to play one and when it was offered to me I just jumped at it. Though Aditya would tell me that I should not worry about playing over-the-hill guy as later on I would get to be cool, I was quite happy playing the part. It’s just that I didn’t have the luxury to lose weight over six months but we managed quite well,” says Khan.

Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sharvari Wagh in Bunty Aur Babli 2 | Yash Raj Films

The sequel features a clash between the “original con couple” and the “new titleholders” (played by Siddhant Chaturvedi and debutante Sharvari Wagh). “The millennial couple obviously come with their share of attitude, confidence, ideas, fun and excitement. Saif and I are trying to buck up and outwit them (laughs). Things have changed drastically in these 15 – 16 years in terms of what works and what doesn’t but we have to do what we believe in and leave the rest to the audience and god. Varun (Sharma) as a director has made sure that his cons are going very much with what viewers will enjoy now,” says Mukerji. Giving his own perspective, Khan adds, “We have a young couple as well in the sequel and the whole concept is having an older and a younger couple. And there is a nice message there that the way forward is not only the young way or the old way but a nice mix between the two. So there is a relationship between the two couples and they both learn from each other, not just us learning from them.”

After having worked in films such as Hum Tum, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, and Ta Ra Rum Pum Khan and Mukerji are returning together on screen after 13 years in Bunty Aur Babli 2. Heaping praises on his co-star, Khan says, “I didn’t find any change in Rani, she is great as she always was. She is a very natural actor and natural actors are classic actors, nothing changes over time. That is the thing about being classic that it stays the same. It is the age for the actor now. I was very keen that we should work well and we should give a good performance. It is not about what we did in the past, it is about what we are doing right now and that should be entertaining enough for people to pay money and watch. I think in many ways we have done that. What I also like about her is something that I noticed in Shah Rukh back in the day where shots don’t get cut because something went wrong. She can react. She keeps acting and doesn’t let it go. She reminded me of my working energy with Shah Rukh.”

He furthers, “But our conversation has been different each time because we have gone through different phases of life. When we did the first film we were single, young actors trying to figure life out and then we have gone through relationships, marriage and children, so naturally the kind of things we are talking about became more and more domestic. For this film we worked early hours, she is a good mother, so we weren’t on set forever. We would start early and finish quite early in the evening. When we did this film we made sure that we had enough time for our families as well. So that was a really nice experience.” “It is amazing working with Saif again. There is a certain comfort we share as co-stars, there is a certain love we have for each other as actors as people and that is what translates in our chemistry on screen,” says Mukerji.

Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan in Bunty Aur Babli 2 | Yash Raj Films

The film was scheduled to release in April this year but it was pushed amid the spike in COVID-19 cases. “It was a very tough time, everything was so unsure and unpredictable, we didn’t know what the future of cinema would be but my husband (Aditya Chopra) stood firmly with his belief that movies are for the audiences to watch in the theatres. He has actually stood by his faith and waited for so long and now given it a release with theatres opening up. I hope that the film is a huge success for his sake and for the fact that he is a true blue producer who stood by his team. It is also a happy feeling because it is a family entertainer that is completely needed for the industry right now and for the audiences because they are also quite tired of watching things that are not very Bollywood. They are now getting those masala films that are meant for big screens,” says Mukerji.

“Sooryavanshi’s success shows that people are happy to go to theatres and get on with their lives which will motivate us to continue making movies. People have to decide it is not really us. We are only reacting. We are just supplying what they want,” adds Khan, who, however, has found his comfort in the OTT space as well with shows like Sacred Games, Tandav, and recently his Bhoot Police had a digital release. “Both, cinema and OTT totally co-exist for me because the screen that I watch movies on at night in bed is as important for me as the big screen but I know there is a difference. You can create content specifically for both screens because there should be a slight difference. For the makers also it is worth thinking about and knowing that they are different environments and they are both very creative,” says Khan who has just wrapped up Adipurush and will soon start working on Vikram Vedha followed by Excel Productions’ Fire.

Mukerji completes 25 years in the industry, and someone who wasn’t too keen on becoming an actor has showcased a diverse range of characters with many memorable projects part of her filmography. “These 25 years have been so enriching for me, I have learnt so much from my colleagues, my filmmakers, my co-stars, technicians. I have earned wonderful fans over the years, my loyal fans have stood by me through thick and thin, so overall it has been an amazing journey for me and I cherish each and every moment of these 25 years. Going forward, let’s see what interests me after Bunty Aur Babli..let’s see what the audience has to say about the film and then I will take a call on what next,” concludes Mukerji.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.