Bhool Chuk Maaf review: Rajkummar Rao-Wamiqa Gabbi lead a film that’s more patience test than comedy quest

Bhool Chuk Maaf story

Bhool Chuk Maaf is a romantic comedy set in Varanasi. Ranjan (Rajkummar Rao), a small-town romantic from Banaras, lands a government job to marry Titli (Wamiqa Gabbi) but forgets a vow he made to Lord Shiva. On his wedding day, he gets stuck in a time loop, and he must fulfil his forgotten promise to escape it. As he sacrifices his dream job for another’s greater good, the film highlights compassion over ambition, reminding us of the power of kindness in a self-centred society. A hilarious tale of love, fate, and redemption unfolds.

Bhool Chuk Maaf review

A couple of years back, when Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films (who produced Chutzpah and Badlapur) released Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, I mentioned in my review that the verdict of the film is in its title itself. I think now that the time is back, I think I have to repeat the same line about Bhool Chuk Maaf, which not only has the plot of a time loop but gets stuck in its execution too. The film, starring Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi, begins with animated opening credits that depict how their characters fall in love, face objections from her family, and ultimately decide to elope. Honestly, I wish the animated opening credits had continued until the film's actual plot, where the time loop begins.

However, the film becomes drawn out as soon as the characters transition into reality. To get married to Titli, on her father's condition, he has to find a government job within two months. Thus, the job hunt begins, and at the end, he has to take an illegal route and finally lands a job. Thus, the preparation of the wedding begins, but as they are all set to get married the next day after the Haldi ceremony, the calendar is stuck on May 29 and May 30 is the wedding date.

This leaves Ranjan in jeopardy, as he has no idea why he is stuck in a time loop and he has to explain the same thing every day to his people: what is happening to him, but he is left with no solution. Then comes the interval, with no shock value, same as he is stuck in a time loop and feels he has got some eureka moment and finally knows how to get out of it.

Unfortunately, Ranjan does not find a solution, nor does the audience. In the second half, the setup changes as we leave the house and observe him trying to find ways to get married and get out of the time loop. But for a person who watches movies or lives life, they might figure out easily why he is stuck and what it is that he needs to do.

But to reach that point in the final act, we have to go through repeated dialogue and cheap, crass toilet humour, which just gets grosser with every joke, and the writers don’t realise they should put a stop to it. You just want to gag and get frustrated while watching the film. This film does not offer anything new in terms of entertainment, but the writers believe that toilet humour will make people laugh.

To be honest, my gripe is with Rajkummar Rao's script sense and where it has vanished. What happens to the actor who just knows how to choose meaningful as well as entertaining movies, irrespective of the genre? The film's first half is what is shown in the trailer, which we see multiple times as of yesterday, thanks to the fact that the film's release is also stuck in a loop, sticking to its plot to the core.

On the other hand, we have Wamiqa Gabbi (Dil Diyan Gallan and Doorbeen), who is playing a full-fledged female lead in a Bollywood big-screen film for the first time. The actor is also stuck in a loop where she doesn't deserve to be after portraying meaningful roles on OTT. I hope a new day with a horizon comes her way in her big Bollywood journey and not where she just gets a childish role where she bawls like a baby and says "Babu" and "Papa" like punctuation marks.

I mean, what could be a better promotion for a film than the fact that it is finally making its debut after so much struggle?

The film aims to convey the idea that honesty may not be appropriate in today's world, yet it's a necessity. Bhool Chuk Maaf takes a religious angle in every possible way. Firstly, it is set in, and then we, of course, have Ranjan taking a "mannat" in front of Lord Shiva to land a job and not being specific about how he will give it back to God in return. People widely acknowledge that the barter system operates alongside God. During this sequence, I was reminded of the moment when Katrina Kaif's character in Jab Tak Hai Jaan was very specific while asking for help from God and achieving her goals. 

I recently watched the Apple TV+ series The Studio, which features an episode focused on how the creators transform a diverse cast into an all-Black cast to avoid backlash, yet they still fall into the trap of invoking stereotypes in the process. Bhool Chuk Maaf also tries to bring that balance in the story because diversity is a necessity for the world, even if the story is not needed, right? Don't want to spoil it, but the bottom line is no, not an impactful turn in any way.

The film is only 121 minutes long and it will feel like a three-hour movie thanks to the time loop. To ensure the story lasts at least two hours, three songs are included in the first hour, resulting in a total of six songs by the end of the movie. It felt like the director Karan Sharma and the team wanted the audience to also feel the desperation to get out of the time loop that they are forced to sit through by tolerating the songs, toilet humour, zero entertainment and having outstanding performers offer nothing more than the usual they do. 

Well, when you have recreated the Love Aaj Kal (2009) Chor Bazari song without understanding its actual meaning, you know the real intention behind everything about Bhool Chuk Maaf. For the uninitiated, the track is a light-hearted, bittersweet look back at a romance that has ended, but in a way that isn't your typical sad song. Rather, it portrays the peculiar and bewildering feelings that arise when a couple who had previously been in love are torn apart, almost as if they never were.

I don't think I can add anything more, but all I can say to my time and energy is Bhool Chuk Maaf.

Bhool Chuk Maaf verdict

Bhool Chuk Maaf tries to loop us into laughter and love but forgets the plot in the process—much like its forgetful hero. While it sets out to be a divine comedy, it ends up a test of patience, with recycled jokes and a plot stuck in reverse gear.