Lakadbaggha 2 – The Monkey Business, the highly anticipated sequel to the animal-lover vigilante action film Lakadbaggha, will have its World Premiere at the Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest in Bruges, Belgium, where it has been officially selected as part of the festival’s 2026 programme. The Razor Reel programming team discovered the film at Marché du Film at Cannes 2026, where the film’s raw action, international martial arts language and environmental core stood out as the ingredients of a potential Indian genre franchise with global appeal.

The film 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.

Patrick Van Hauwaert, Festival Director said, “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.”

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.

The sequel expands the franchise geographically and stylistically, combining an Indian vigilante narrative with the action vocabulary of Asian martial arts. The film also marks an India–Indonesia co-production, further widening the franchise’s international footprint.

At its heart, however, remains an animal.

The film’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 film of the franchise had opened at the Kolkata International Film Festival and had its International premiere at SAIFF New York winning Jha the Best Actor honours in 2023.

Anshuman Jha, actor cum filmmaker Said, “Animals are going extinct because humanity is going extinct. Lakadbaggha was always an unusual film 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 film 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 film for the first time makes this selection particularly meaningful. We hope the film opens another door for Indian action cinema internationally.”

With its combination of Indian vigilante mythology, animal welfare, Asian martial arts and an international action ensemble, Lakadbaggha 2 – The Monkey Business aims to take the franchise into a distinctly global genre space.

Also Read: Anshuman Jha says Asha Bhosle’s final feature song for the film Om Ka Hari is ‘one of the most profound’ moments of his life