With theatres reopening in Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra, filmmakers are lining up new releases every week. Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar's Badhaai Do (2022) is now scheduled to take the Republic Day weekend of 2022 for its theatrical release.
The film, directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni, is a spin-off from the Ayushmann Khurrana-Gajraj Rao-Neena Gupta-Sanya Malhotra family entertainer Badhaai Ho (2018), directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma.
Sharing news of the film's release date, actress Pednekar wrote, 'Theatre ready... Aap ready... Toh hum bhi ready... Republic Day weekend 2022 ko aa rahe hain hum aapse milne in cinemas to celebrate… So save the date! And congratulations nahi. Badhaai Do.'
Announced in 2020, the film only went on the floors in January this year. The arrival of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project further.
However, the decision to release the film in theatres on 28 January 2022 comes as a surprise, given that the Akshay Kumar-led period film Prithviraj is set for release just a week earlier, on 21 January 2022.
Besides Rajkummar Rao and Pednekar, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chaddha, Nitish Pandey and Shashi Bhushan. Rajkummar Rao reportedly plays a policeman while Pednekar plays a teacher.
Produced by Junglee Pictures, Badhaai Do was initially supposed to be released in January this year. The film is written by Akshat Ghildial and Suman Adhikary.