Ali Abbas Zafar had a massive task on his hands. When you've got Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff—two of India’s biggest action stars—sharing a screen for the first time, people expect fireworks. Real fireworks. Not just the CGI kind. The Bade Miyan Chote Miyan movie was marketed as India’s answer to Fast & Furious or Bad Boys, a high-octane buddy-cop spectacle with a sci-fi twist. But once the dust settled at the box office, the reality was a bit more complicated than the hype suggested.
It’s weird.
Normally, a movie with this much muscle behind it cruises to a "Super Hit" status on the first weekend. Yet, despite the 350-crore budget and the exotic locations from Jordan to Scotland, something felt... off. It wasn't just the script. It was the timing, the tone, and maybe a bit of "action fatigue" that's currently hitting the Bollywood circuit.
What Went Down in the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan Movie Plot
The story centers on "Bade Miyan" (Akshay Kumar) and "Chote Miyan" (Tiger Shroff), two elite soldiers who are basically the only guys capable of stopping a masked villain played by Prithviraj Sukumaran. Prithviraj plays Kabir, a scientist-turned-terrorist who has stolen a "cloning" technology and wants to use it to bring India to its knees.
Standard stuff, right?
But the movie tries to layer in this concept of "Eklavya," a super-soldier program. It’s heavy on the tech-talk. We're talking artificial intelligence, drones, and digital shields. While the visual effects (VFX) handled by companies like DNEG were polished, the emotional core was missing. You have these two legends bickering and fighting, but the stakes never felt truly personal until the very end.
Honestly, the best part of the movie wasn't even the leads. It was Prithviraj. He brought a certain gravitas to a role that could have easily been a cartoonish villain. His voice alone does a lot of the heavy lifting. Manushi Chhillar and Alaya F also show up as part of the team, though their roles are mostly secondary to the bromance between the two heroes.
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The Problem With the "Buddy Cop" Vibe
The 1998 original with Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda was a riot because of the comedy. It was goofy. It was chaotic. People loved it because the chemistry felt unforced.
The 2024 Bade Miyan Chote Miyan movie is almost entirely different. It’s a serious action thriller with occasional "humor" thrown in. The problem? Akshay and Tiger’s chemistry feels scripted. Tiger plays the impulsive younger guy, and Akshay is the seasoned, "I've seen it all" veteran. We've seen this dynamic a hundred times.
It's not that they aren't good. They’re great athletes. The stunt work is legitimately impressive—lots of real explosions and hand-to-hand combat. But you can only watch so many slow-motion walks toward the camera before you start checking your watch. The movie clocks in at around 160 minutes. That’s a long time to spend on a plot that basically boils down to "find the bad guy's remote control."
Decoding the Box Office Disappointment
Let's look at the numbers because they don't lie.
Produced by Pooja Entertainment, the film was released during Eid 2024. This is usually a goldmine for Bollywood. However, it faced stiff competition from Maidaan, Ajay Devgn’s football drama. While Maidaan appealed to the critics, the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan movie was supposed to capture the mass audience.
It didn't happen.
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The film opened to around 15-16 crores on Day 1. For a movie of this scale, that's low. Usually, a film of this size needs a 30-crore start to be safe. By the end of its theatrical run, it struggled to cross the 100-crore mark domestically. When your budget is nearly quadruple your domestic earnings, you're in "box office disaster" territory.
Why did it fail?
- The Trailer Spoiled Too Much: By the time people got to the theater, they’d already seen the big action set pieces in the promos.
- Action Fatigue: After Pathaan and Jawan, the Indian audience has a very high bar for "masala" action. If it isn't groundbreaking, they won't show up.
- Weak Music: Unlike the 1998 version, which had chart-topping hits, the soundtrack here didn't resonate. "Wallah Habibi" was catchy, but it wasn't a "must-listen."
Technical Brilliance vs. Narrative Gaps
Technically, Ali Abbas Zafar knows how to frame a shot. The cinematography by Marcin Laskawiec is gorgeous. The desert sequences are expansive, and the military hardware looks authentic. If you’re a fan of "gun porn" and tactical gear, you’ll actually enjoy the visual fidelity of the film.
But the dialogue? It’s cringey.
There are lines about "Deshbhakti" (patriotism) that feel like they were written by an AI trying to sound like a soldier. It lacks the nuance of Zafar’s earlier work like Tiger Zinda Hai. In that movie, the action served the story. Here, it feels like the story is just a thin clothesline to hang action sequences on.
Prithviraj’s character has a backstory involving betrayal by the Indian government, which is actually the most interesting part of the film. But it’s glossed over in favor of more scenes of Akshay and Tiger jumping off buildings.
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What the Audience Really Thought
If you look at platforms like IMDb or Letterboxd, the reviews are split. The "mass" audience—people who just want to see things blow up—gave it a pass. But the urban audience and Gen Z viewers found it dated.
There's this weird disconnect in modern Bollywood. Filmmakers are trying to make global-standard action movies, but they're still using 90s-era melodrama scripts. You can't have both. If you want to be John Wick, you have to commit to that vibe. If you want to be a David Dhawan comedy, do that. Trying to blend them into a 350-crore military epic just creates a tonal mess.
Lessons from the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan Movie
So, what can we actually learn from this?
First, star power isn't enough anymore. Akshay Kumar is a legend, but he’s been doing 4-5 movies a year, and the audience is feeling the overexposure. Tiger Shroff is arguably the best martial artist in the country, but he needs to pick scripts that challenge him as an actor.
Second, "Grandeur" isn't a substitute for "Grip." A movie can be set in a single room and be more thrilling than a movie that spans five countries.
If you're planning to watch it on OTT (it's currently on Netflix), go in with tempered expectations. It’s a decent "popcorn" flick for a Sunday afternoon when you don't want to think too hard. Turn your brain off, enjoy the stunts, and ignore the plot holes.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs and Critics
- Watch for the Villian: Pay close attention to Prithviraj Sukumaran. He proves that a strong antagonist can save even the most mediocre scripts.
- Evaluate the VFX: Compare the CGI in this film to other recent Indian films like Brahmastra. You'll see where the money was actually spent.
- Context Matters: Before watching, revisit the 1998 version just to see how much the definition of "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan" has shifted from comedy to paramilitary action.
- Skip the Songs: If you're watching on a streaming platform, you can safely skip the musical interludes without losing any plot points. They are purely decorative.
The Bade Miyan Chote Miyan movie serves as a cautionary tale for high-budget filmmaking in the post-pandemic era. It proves that while you can buy the best cameras and the biggest stars, you can't buy a soul for your story. It’s a loud, flashy, and ultimately hollow experience that highlights the growing gap between what producers think people want and what the audience actually craves.