Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Let’s be real—Priyanka Chopra’s spy thriller Citadel wasn’t exactly begging for an entire global universe of spin-offs. But hey, at least it had style, some jaw-dropping backdrops for its action scenes, and a villain with serious flair. ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’, the Bollywood spin-off by Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru, starring Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Kay Kay Menon? It’s got none of that—no style, no lavish settings, and definitely no gritty violence. If there’s something the two spy series share, it’s some annoyingly shaky fight sequences. If there’s one thing the two spy series share, it’s some annoyingly shaky fight sequences.
Set in the 1990s, the plot is as old as time—the good guys and bad guys are after world-changing tech, and they fight over it. Kay Kay Menon’s Guru leads one faction, while Simran’s Zooni leads the other. Gal Gadot’s Heart of Stone, Halle Berry’s The Union, and a bunch of other spy films have similar storylines. But since Citadel: Honey Bunny is in Bollywood, we get more emotional baggage. Varun Dhawan plays an undercover agent named Bunny, Guru’s loyal foot-soldier, who trains small-time actor Honey (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) to become an agent, and they both go on a mission to steal crucial tech from a scientist. After the mission goes bust, Honey goes into hiding and raises a daughter, while everyone, including boyfriend Bunny, assumes she is dead. Cut to 2000: bad guys are after Honey again, and Bunny attempts to reunite with her and their daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar)—which, by the way, was also the name of Priyanka Chopra’s character, though it’s never explicitly revealed if they’re the same person. The six-episode series is divided into two timelines—flashbacks to 1992 and the current events in 2000.
I thoroughly enjoyed Raj and DK’s series Guns & Gulaabs, a 90s action-comedy, and had similar expectations for Citadel: Honey Bunny. But the only thing truly retro about the show is Varun Dhawan’s stale acting style, which was reminiscent of Uday Chopra’s character from the 2004 hit film Dhoom. Essentially, Varun’s Bunny gave off more streetside Romeo energy than top-spy charm. Almost all the other supporting characters appeared more serious and professional than Bunny—be it Saqib Saleem’s angsty antagonist KD or even Sikandar Kher as the minor agent character Shaan. Varun was simply miscast, while Samantha Ruth Prabhu kicks butt as the badass single mom Honey, who can take down grown men and makes this series worth a one-time watch—if only for the refreshing girl power! This series just didn’t need a Bunny to watch out for Honey, who unlike her name, isn’t the sweet girl-next-door, but a rebellious runway who makes her own rules.
Kashvi Majmundar delivers a standout performance as Honey’s sharp and precocious daughter. The mother-daughter duo shares their own secret world of protocols, and it’s refreshing to see Honey treat her daughter as a sensible human rather than a spoiled child needing constant coddling. Kay Kay Menon, as the manipulative and morally grey Guru, is effortlessly commanding. However, he falters slightly in one of the later episodes during a crucial, emotionally charged exchange with Bunny. It feels as though Menon struggles to bring his usual intensity, likely because Varun’s lackluster energy doesn’t give him much to work with. It’s one of those moments where you realize just how much actors rely on each other’s energy to elevate a scene.
Well, for a spy-themed show, at least Citadel: Honey Bunny is more entertaining than Argylle. The sixth episode closes with an open-ended scene, which honestly, should’ve just been more decisive in closing the Honey-Bunny chapter. If you’re a Samantha Ruth Prabhu fan, definitely check this out.
Rating: 5.5 on 10. Citadel: Honey Bunny in on Prime Video.
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