Bachchhan Paandey movie review: Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon film can't replicate the Machiavellian spirit of the original

Bachchhan Paandey tries to overcompensate for its lack of tonal loyalty to Jigarthanda by rushing through its key moments in the second half, hoping for the pace to make up for the punch — but it only feels like one last half-hearted attempt at redemption. So when I came to know that Kriti Sanon plays one of the protagonists of Bachchhan Paandey, replacing a male filmmaker character from the original, it filled me with hope… And somehow, also dread. But the most cliched part is how writers Sajid Nadiadwala and Farhad Samji fail to resist the temptation of adding a gooey backstory to many of the primary characters, including the supposed-to-be-heinous Bachchhan Paandey himself, who gets a tiresome flashback detailing his past, his short-lived love-life, and the real antagonist of his life, which does not add anything to what we know of his evil [There is an elaborate love song shot with all the self-seriousness of an epic romance, sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, no less>. Bachchhan Paandey tries to overcompensate for its lack of tonal loyalty by rushing through its key moments in the second half, hoping for the pace to make up for the punch — but it only feels like one last half-hearted attempt at redemption.