Anshuman Jha’s Lakadbaggha 2 - The Monkey Business becomes 1st Indian action franchise to have World Premiere at Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest, Belgium
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
The movie also stars Adil Hussain, Sarah Jane Dias and Vikram Kochar.
Adding to this, The movie brings together an international ensemble led by Chinese martial arts star Sunny Pang, known for Headshot and Netflix’s Havoc opposite Tom Hardy, alongside Thai martial arts icon Dan Chupong, known globally for Ong Bak. The Indian cast features acclaimed performers Adil Hussain, Sarah Jane Dias, Vikram Kochar and Anshuman Jha, who reprises his role as animal-lover vigilante Arjun Bakshi.
Meanwhile, Patrick Van Hauwaert, Festival Director shared, “Watching Lakadbaggha 2 felt like a journey back to the golden age of martial arts cinema from my youth. Beyond the fantastic hand-to-hand combat, its urgent focus on exposing the cruelty of illegal wildlife smuggling makes it a truly impactful watch. It's a gripping story that stays with you.”
Notably, Directed by Anshuman Jha, Lakadbaggha 2 – The Monkey Business marks Jha’s return behind the camera following Lord Curzon Ki Haveli , while also bringing him back to the character and world he originated with the first Lakadbaggha .
As per the latest buzz, The sequel expands the franchise geographically and stylistically, combining an Indian vigilante narrative with the action vocabulary of Asian martial arts. The movie also marks an India–Indonesia co-production, further widening the franchise’s international footprint.
In further updates, The movie’s selection at Razor Reel also represents an interesting evolution for the franchise, from an unconventional Indian vigilante story centred around an animal lover into an international action spectacle that brings together martial arts performers and actors from India and across Asia. The first movie of the franchise had opened at the Kolkata International Movie Festival and had its International premiere at SAIFF New York winning Jha the Best Star honours in 2023.
On top of that, Anshuman Jha, star cum filmmaker Shared, “Animals are going extinct because humanity is going extinct. Lakadbaggha was always an unusual movie for India — an animal lover who becomes a vigilante - a love letter to dogs. With Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business , we wanted to take that world much further and create an action movie that could speak to audiences in India and beyond - it's our love letter to the environment with the endangered Yaki Monkey at its centre. To know that their population has fallen from nearly 50,000 in 1990 to fewer than 5,000 today is devastating. We wanted to tell that story through a genre that can travel across borders, action.”
He added, “There have been several action and martial arts films in Razor Reel’s history, but to have the festival welcome an Indian martial arts movie for the first time makes this selection particularly meaningful. We hope the movie opens another door for Indian action cinema internationally.”
Source: Bollywood Hungama