Bahut Hua Sammaan review: Wild comedy that involves a failed bank robbery and many wacky entanglements

Two engineering students of Uttar Bharat University, Bony (Raghav Juyal) and Fundoo (Abhishek Chauhan), who are perpetually failing and have no job prospects, act upon the insane advice of Backchod Baba (Sanjay Mishra). He suggests the duo rob the campus bank as “banks are the cesspool of capitalism”.

The prize idiots, who have been dealing in low-level crimes till now, seize upon the idea to empty out the lockers at MCBC Bank (yes, that’s the name) and go along with the reckless Baba. Bony and Fundoo are promptly arrested and roped into a bonkers ride that entangles them with a calculating godman (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), members of the sand mafia, an unrelenting hitman (Ram Kapoor) and many crooked officials.

The dialogue, often vulgar, lands its intended jokes, drawing laughs along the way. The film, directed by Ashish R Shukla, moves from campus comedy to political satire. It is presented in an appealing comic-book style, with special visual emphasis on action, both for comedic and dramatic effect.

Written by Avinash Singh and Vijay Narayan Verma, Bahut Hua Sammaan takes its characters through some ridiculous plots and the cast is all game for the ensuing madness. While Juyal and Chauhan are perfect as the clueless, bumbling students-turned-robbers, Mishra is top-notch as the all-knowing Baba who guides them.

Mishra seems to be enjoying himself as a revolutionary comrade, out to topple capitalism; he even creates his own version of Alexa, whom he calls his ‘bahu Apeksha’. Several colourful characters also join in the caper, from criminals Raju (Bhupesh Kumar Singh) and Bhola (Sharat Sonu), who involve their girlfriend and TikTok star Sapna Rani (Flora Saini) in the robbery, to Bhattacharya’s Anand Bairagi Maharaj whose organization Akhand Bharat hides a sinister secret.

Ram Kapoor’s Lovely Singh is a fixer who has been brought in to eliminate any problems that pop up, and problems there are aplenty. Nidhi Singh plays undaunted police officer Bobby Tiwari, the only officer worth trusting. There is also a hilarious B-plot of her fertility issues with her enthusiastic husband Rajat (Namit Das), wherein Bobby takes charge eventually.

The bank heist sets off a domino effect of events which touch almost every character in the film. As Bahut Hua Sammaan heads to a riotous ending, it does become too much to keep track of, even as the laughs keep coming. The frenzied action is contained well by editor Suchitra Sathe, and the apt music choices of older Hindi songs from RD Burman's 'Dhanno Ki Aankhon Mein' to Nazia Hassan's 'Boom Boom' are a delight when introducing and highlighting particular sequences.

The film pushes a relevant message for greater dialogue and dissent amongst citizens, a message sorely needed in these times. Despite the ludicrous plot, Bahut Hua Sammaan is a fitting comedy for this crazy year.

Disney+ Hotstar is now streaming Bahut Hua Sammaan.