The Saheb and his biwi are back, as bitter and antagonistic as before, but to deal with a new gangster: Indarjeet Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya. He is a ruler denied and determined to have his revenge. Just as the Saheb’s biwi is, to partake of the twin pleasures of the bottle and the flesh. When their paths meet, how can matters be anything but interesting?
It’s not often that a sequel looks more promising or generates more excitement than its predecessor (Dhoom 2 and 3 are perhaps the only exceptions). Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster (2011) was a finely crafted, calibrated exercise in filmmaking that exhibited Tigmanshu Dhulia’s grasp of the heartland and its socio-political dynamics. It had some good performances from Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill and Randeep Hooda and enjoyed a decent amount of box-office success.
Now, the entry of Irrfan Khan into the sequel has taken the film to another level. Those who remember Haasil, that terrific take on student politics, will affirm that this actor-director pairing has that extra edge that makes the difference. And it’s got to show in this sequel.
To give you the plotline, the story moves on after the death of lover boy Babloo (Randeep Hooda) in the original, with the crippled sahib Aditya Pratap Singh (Jimmy Shergill) and his wife Madhavi Devi (Mahie Gill), who is now an MLA, fighting off the assault launched by the revenge-thirsty Raja Bhaiyya. There’s another woman in the works, though: the ambitious Ranjana (Soha Ali Khan) who finds herself attracted to both men.
Expect much royal paraphernalia, violence, dialogue-baazi, erotic content and controlled fireworks. And some good acting, of course.
Bottomline: Not often that a sequel looks more promising.
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns
Cast:Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill, Soha Ali Khan
Director:Tigmanshu Dhulia
Releases:March 8, 2013
