Writer/Director: Karan Sharma
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Seema Pahwa, Sanjay Mishra, Zakir Hussain, Raghubir Yadav
Runtime: 121 minutes
Rating: 4
 
In Bhool Chuk Maaf, Karan Sharma does something rather brilliant in taking a genre usually heavy on over-the-top effects and time-travel gadgetry — the time-loop — and imbuing it with much greater and more tremendous strength: emotion, compassion, and the soft, unflinching power of family. A film set in the sin-soaked streets of Varanasi, Bhool Chuk Maaf is not a world-saving movie. It's about saving dinner, saving face, and most importantly, saving relationships — loop by loop.
 
Rajkummar Rao is Ranjan, a gentle, small-town guy trapped between the crushing force of expectations and the whispers of his heart. His marriage hinges on securing a government job — something he "pulls off" by paying a bribe — but the twist isn't in the scam. It's in the loop. Ranjan wakes up every morning to the same things, except with one additional opportunity to get it right. Wamiqa Gabbi, Titli, is his voice of reason — stable, insightful, and beautifully normal. They make a romance based not on Hollywood fantasy but on day-to-day companionship. It's lived-in, not boisterous. It feels authentic — and that's its charm.
 
But the strongest aspect of Bhool Chuk Maaf is its cast. Seema Pahwa, Raghubir Yadav, Zakir Hussain, and perennial favorite Sanjay Mishra (as the enigmatic, near-mythical Bhagwan Bhai) crowd the screen with emotion, anarchy, and verisimilitude. It's a movie in which everybody seems like someone you know — the interfering uncle, the intrusive parent, the wise fool who lives down the street. They don't merely play supporting roles; they ground the emotional topography of the film.
 
Visually, the movie is a Valentine to Varanasi. The crowded alleys, the chais on the rooftops, the chaos along the ghats — all are alive. The city is not just a backdrop; it mirrors the inner loops of Ranjan's odyssey. Throw in a charming soundtrack — with songs such as Ting Ling Sajna and Chor Bazari Phir Se — and the movie sings and dances its way through its storylines with playful defiance and poetic magnificence.
 
Produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films and co-produced by Sharda Karki Jalota, Bhool Chuk Maaf is not a film that shouts. It gently nudges. It asks you to forgive, to try again, and to laugh at life’s small messes. There are no gimmicks here, no crass jokes or shortcuts. Just sharp writing, careful direction, and performances that glow with honesty.
 
In a cinematic environment frequently pursuing spectacle, Bhool Chuk Maaf is a relief to go back to heart. It's a cycle you won't want to get stuck in — over and over again.