Bell Bottom (2021 film)

Bell Bottom is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ranjit M. Tewari. The film is written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Sheikh, and produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh and Nikkhil Advani under their respective banners Pooja Entertainment and Emmay Entertainment. It stars Akshay Kumar as the lead character, with Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in an extended cameo appearance. Bell Bottom is inspired from real life hijacking events in India by Khalistani terrorists during the 1980s, such as the Indian Airlines Flight 423, 405 and 421 hijackings.

Principal photography began on 20 August 2020. The film was wrapped up on 30 September in London. The film released in theatres on 19 August 2021 in 3D. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Kumar’s and Dutta’s performances, art direction, screenplay, background score and cinematography but criticism for the poor visual effects and climax. Such mixed reviews, combined with the second wave of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown across various states, made it a major commercial failure.