Bunty Aur Babli 2: Saif Ali Khan On Replacing Abhishek Bachchan as 'Bunty'

The 2005 release Bunty Aur Babli starred Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan as the con artists.

Saif Ali Khan played Bunty in Bunty Aur Babli 2, a role portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan in the 2005 original.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

Bunty Aur Babli 2, which released on 19 November, stars Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan as the iconic ‘Bunty and Babli’ popularised in the 2005 original film Bunty Aur Babli.

In the first film, the role of Bunty was portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan, who Saif replaced in the latest film. Saif Ali Khan revealed that producer Aditya Chopra told him things ‘weren’t working out’ with the original cast.

Saif told News18, “Honestly speaking, Adi called and said, ‘Things aren’t working out and we aren’t able to take the story forward with the original cast. Would you be interested in being a part of this film once they adjust the role?’”

He added, “And I said yes because he is producing the movie and he knew what he wanted to do with the franchise and once they knew that they weren’t going one way, they took the other route. So it happens and I have a very pragmatic approach towards it.”

Saif Ali Khan also said that he was ‘keen’ to collaborate with Yash Raj Films again. “There were various reasons that we didn’t work together for more than a decade. I was keen to have a good working relationship with Yash Raj Films again and that was one of the reasons to say yes to the film,” the actor said.

Saif’s Bunty Aur Babli 2 co-star Rani Mukerji, who reprised her role as Babli, talked about how the two films are different. Rani told SpotboyE, “I think comparisons are something that people would like to do. So, there is no point in saying that people should not compare both films."

The actor further said, "I think that’s something they will do because now on social media, there is so much that people can do on daily basis to start a conversation and comparing would be something that they would love to do.”

“Honestly, we can’t help that but at the same time what is important to understand is that Bunty Aur Babli 2 is a different film on its own. It’s not the same movie that was released in 2005,” Rani said.

Bunty Aur Babli 2 was directed by Varun Sharma and also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sharvari Wagh, and Pankaj Tripathi.