Bunty Aur Babli 2 released today and has opened to mostly positive reviews. But many are missing the presence of Abhishek Bachchan, who was a part of Bunty Aur Babli. A source told BollywoodLife that while he wanted to be a part of the film, he had other commitments and the team couldn’t wait. We really doubt if that was the real reason. Here’s a look at some other actors who were replaced from sequels and the reasons were baffling.

It’s been 16 years since Rakesh’s Bunty (not Abishek Bachchan) & Vimmi’s Babli (still Rani Mukerji) haven’t looted anyone living a happy family life. Until one day, YRF got the idea of remaking its classic and now we’ve Bunty, Babli 2.0 in Kunal (Siddhant Chaturvedi), Sonia (Sharvari Wagh) to trap & rob people. It must’ve been a gloomy childhood for them as from the thousands of inspiring figures worldwide, they choose to follow con-artists Bunty & Babli.

Director Varun V. Sharma has also penned the story as well and it’s the classic case of “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence (read: movie), and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way” (Spoiler alert: he doesn’t). Full marks for the idea of bringing in another pair giving a fight to the new one but it’s the execution of the idea that’s sloppy. It takes away everything that its predecessor stood for, from proper character building to the locations playing an extra.

Even if part 1 wasn’t a parameter, this still would’ve ended up as a poor comedy with great performers who hold the power to turn the film around. Some sequences feel straight-up like rejected ideas from the original. Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography in part 1 shone brightly due to the earthy locations makers shot at. The whole Dubai sequence in this one takes from away from the novelty.

Saif Ali Khan tries a little too hard to fill in Bachchan’s shoes in this one. Though the body language is completely different because of the 16-years jump, the accent comes across as artificial at times.

Rani Mukerji’s Vimmi has always been a loud character but this time it really bothered me because of its poor sketch. Apart from one or two genuine sequences, she was too loud too often.

Before going into it, I had the maximum expectations from Siddhant Chaturvedi because of course Gully Boy, but like every other good actor on the list even he fails to attract the attention with basically nothing.

Sharvari lacked energy or something was pulling her back making the whole vibe of her character very dull. Even in the scenes in which she has to shout, she tried too hard to not overdo it hence limiting the natural flow.

Pankaj Tripathi looked like he shot Ludo and this one during the same period. That would’ve been a compliment if his role was even as remotely funny as Ludo. I don’t remember when was the last time when some film wasted Pankaj Tripathi.

Varun V. Sharma loses the plot within the first 30 minutes of the film. Even the initial half-hour manages to stay afloat due to the remaining external residue of part 1. You feel hopeful of the story picking up, but the more it continues the steep slippery slope becomes.

Retaining Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy from the original was probably the best decision made by the makers but even they can’t save the sinking ship. The poor script initiates a domino effect shattering everything else in the film. Apart from Luv Ju (that too to some extent), not a single song lands well. Only if you remember how classic songs of the original were.

(With inputs from agencies)