Bhool Chuk Maaf

<p>Titli Mishra and Ranjan Tiwari are lovers in who are eager to marry but Titli’s father, Brijmohan Mishra, lays down the condition for Ranjan to have a government job to marry Titli. Searching for the job, Ranjan vows to do a good deed if he gets a government job and earns such a job illegally by bribing a man named Bhagwan. On the 29th of the month is the ceremony with the wedding scheduled for the following day. But after spending the haldi day, Ranjan wakes up to find that he is living the same day again and is stuck in a . Later, it is revealed that this is because of his unfulfilled vow, and Ranjan realises that he must do a good deed to break the loop. He tries every possible way to do a good deed, but nothing works, and he remains stuck on his Haldi day. He gives up and decides to commit suicide. Just before he jumps into the water, he meets a man named Hamid Ansari, who is also planning to kill himself because he is unemployed. He soon learns that Ansari is the candidate whose job was wrongfully given to Ranjan due to his bribe to Bhagwan, which is the reason he is stuck in the time-loop. His good deed will be returning Ansari’s job, which is not possible as he would lose Titli and his wedding if he does so. The time loop still does not break. He sees Ansari committing suicide everyday, and saves him every single time, but Ansari rejects every offer for a different job and commits suicide. Ranjan soon discovers that Ansari wants the job that badly because he wants to take the government job, stop corruption, and help his village with water and electricity connection. The next morning is the 29th again, and Ansari, alive, gives Ranjan the chance to rectify his wrong deed, and Ranjan finally gives his job back to Ansari. Finally, the time loop breaks and everyone, unaware of Ranjan’s unemployment, starts preparing for the wedding. However, Ranjan calls the wedding off, telling everyone that he has given up his job, and faces criticism from everyone, including Titli. Then, Bhagwan enters, and gives an eye-opening speech on humanity; he supports Ranjan’s decision of giving his job to Ansari. Titli agrees to marry Ranjan, and they both finally get married. Earlier, reports suggested that and would star in the film. However, Aaryan later dismissed these claims on Twitter, calling them rumours with no truth. In April 2024, officially announced its lineup for 2024 and 2025, including this project. Directed by Karan Sharma, this marks his second collaboration with Maddock Films after the upcoming romantic drama , where stars opposite . and Wamiqa Gabbi play the lead roles in the film. This marked Rao’s sixth collaboration with Maddock Films, following his work on , , , , and . played an important role in the film. In February 2025, it was reported that joined the cast. The film also features , , and in pivotal roles. On 2 January 2024, Rao and Gabbi arrived in to commence shooting. On 29 March 2025, they filmed a sequence at a studio in , where a set resembling a small-town street was built for a lively promotional song. The track, composed by , features choreography by and styling by . Another song was filmed in Varanasi in mid-April. The film’s soundtrack was composed by , written by , Armaan Lahoria, Shaan Yadav and Amitabh Bhattacharya while the background score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The song “Waalian” by Harnoor is recreated for the film and the song was titled “Koi Na” was released on 16 April 2025. Originally lyrics written by Gifty. The song “Chor Bazaari Phir Se” from the 2009 film , composed by and sung by and is recreated for the film. The song “Allah Meherban” from the 2013 film , sung by and composed by is re-used in the film. The first teaser was released on 18 February 2025. On 10 April 2025, the trailer was launched in a press conference, held in Mumbai. On April 25, 2025, a promotional event for the film took place at in , featuring RajKummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi. As part of their promotional campaign, the duo also visited . On April 30, 2025, they made an appearance on the sets of Hip Hop India Season 2. On 19 May 2025, pre-release event was held at in . The film was set to release in theatres on 9 May 2025. However it was postponed to 16 May 2025 for a release on , with the makers citing the as a reason. After over 5000 tickets were sold via ticket sales from booking counters and online outlets clocking over Rs 3 crores in ticket sales, it resulted in backlash from distributors and film exhibitors. As a result, filed a lawsuit against Maddock Films for cancelling the theatrical release at the eleventh hour and moving it to a digital platform, alleging that the last-minute cancellation led to substantial financial losses. On 9 May 2025, the granted ad-interim relief to PVR INOX and restrained Maddock Films from releasing the film on any streaming or non-theatrical platform until the 8-week holdback period expired following its first theatrical release in India. On 14 May 2025, Maddock Films and PVR INOX mutually decided the film would have a theatrical release in theatres on 23 May 2025 and after two weeks of theatrical run, it began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 6 June 2025. On the website , 27% of 11 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10. of gave 2 stars out of 5 and said that “as a time-loop comedy, it goes completely overboard with its central premise without being able to create a logical context for the perplexing goings-on in the life of a lad trapped in a limbo.” Shalini Langer of awarded 2 stars out of 5 and writes that “Despite its cast including good actors like Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi, the film feels like such a stew of Ghat meets Groundhog Day.” Rishabh Suri of rated 2.5/5 stars and commented that “Bhool Chuk Maaf, a time-loop comedy, ends up stuck in a loop of its own clichés. The only thing harder to escape than a time loop is Rajkummar’s contract with small-town scripts. It tries to be a comedy, flirts with a social message, and ends up being the cinematic equivalent of a WhatsApp forward — familiar, repetitive, and mildly amusing at best.” Rahul Desai of writes in his review that “As a time-loop film, it’s tempting to notice the irony of literally going around in circles and arriving back at the same preachy disappointment. The same formula is repeated again and again and again. The same signs are elicited with Groundhog Day-level grit. It’s all designed, of course. The boys played well for charity. And ethical match-fixing reaches a whole new level.” Anuj Kumar of observed that “Writer-director Karan Sharma makes us take a leap of faith in a sharp social commentary disguised as a frothy comedy.” Renuka Vyavahare of rated 3/5 stars and said that “the film delivers a relevant message in a deceptive manner. The film addresses growing apathy, isolated existence and self-centric living.” Vineeta Kumar of gave 1.5 stars out of 5 and said that “In ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’, pregnancy jokes and outdated concepts of love are given way more importance than an attempt at bringing a progressive story from the heartland of India. Even Rajkummar Rao can’t save this lost in a loop, lacking in love film.” Uday Bhatia of said that “‘Bhool Chuk Maaf is a stale, derivative time-loop comedy”. Abhishek Srivastava of rated 2.5/5 stars and said that “The film leans on a tired formula and ends up feeling more routine than refreshing.” writing for gave 3.5 stars out of 5 five and said “If cinema is a place to have a good time, then writer-director Karan Sharma’s Bhool Chuk Maaf is just the place where you ought to be seen this weekend. It is fun and funny. Feisty and ritzy.” Kartik Bhardwaj of rated 2/5 stars and said “Bhool Chuk Maaf felt like a déjà vu, it has all happened before: these ghats of Banaras, these accented wisecracks, these actors who act like they were born to be sidekicks. It’s a rerun.”</p>