Sarah-Jane Dias and Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business Take a World Premiere to Bruges
On 6 November 2026, at 6pm in Bruges, Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business will be seen by an audience for the first time. The venue is the Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival, a festival devoted to genre cinema, and the film arrives as an official selection under a poster line that reads, rather aptly, "cinema that cuts deep".
The headline belongs to the franchise. The more interesting story belongs to its female lead.
Sarah-Jane Dias: a career that never took the obvious route
Born in Muscat in 1982 to a Goan Catholic family, Sarah-Jane Dias reached the screen by the long road. She won Miss India Oman in 1997, worked as a model and Channel V presenter in Mumbai, and in 2007 was crowned Femina Miss India World, representing the country at Miss World that year.
Her film career, from 2010 onwards, is a study in refusing to settle into a type:
2010 to 2012: a Tamil debut, Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai; the Hindi thriller Game and the Telugu Panjaa, neither of which found an audience; then her first commercial success, Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum
2014: O Teri and a part in the ensemble of Happy New Year
2015 to 2017: the turn that redefined her, with Pan Nalin's Angry Indian Goddesses, then Zubaan and Gurinder Chadha's Viceroy's House
2017 onwards: a second life on streaming, from Inside Edge to Tandav opposite Saif Ali Khan, and Never Kiss Your Best Friend season 2, which earned her an ITA Award for Best Supporting Actress
2024: a role in Hansal Mehta's The Buckingham Murders
Read as a sequence, the choices tell you something. Dias moved early from glamour roles into ensemble work about women's interior lives, then into streaming drama, where a performer is judged across hours rather than minutes. An action franchise with an ethical spine is a logical next step rather than a swerve.
Her place in the sequel
When her casting was announced in 2025, director and star Anshuman Jha described her as "a quiet storm" and "elegance with edge". Dias, for her part, said she had loved the first film and spoke of the rarity of a project that pairs action with a purpose: "protecting the voiceless".
Character details remain under wraps. What has been reported is that she carries a central role, brings a moral perspective as well as physical intensity, and was one of the faces of the film when First Ray Films took it to market at Cannes earlier this year, which we covered in our report on Lakadbaggha 2 at Cannes 2026.
The sequel itself
The first Lakadbaggha (2023) introduced Arjun Bakshi, a Kolkata vigilante who fights for animals, played by Jha with Ridhi Dogra and Milind Soman in support. The sequel widens the frame considerably:
The story moves beyond India into the forests of Indonesia
The plot centres on the illegal primate trade and a global trafficking network
Adil Hussain joins the cast, taking over the part earlier associated with Milind Soman
International martial-arts performers Sunny Pang and Dan Chupong were named in earlier coverage, alongside Vikram Kochhar
It has been described as the first Indian action franchise to hold its world premiere at Razor Reel. For an independent production, a genre-festival launch is shrewd: those audiences reward choreography and conviction over star wattage.
A note on dates
First Ray Films' own post gives the premiere as 6 November at 6pm. One trade report listed 7 November. Festival schedules do shift, so anyone travelling should confirm on the festival site.
What happens next
The Indian theatrical release, originally set for 6 November, has moved to early 2027. The reasoning is candid: nobody sensible opens an action film in the week of Ramayana: Part 1. The makers are also exploring a North American release in 2027, with the American Film Market in Los Angeles as the next stop, and the first film is set for a limited re-release in Indian cinemas this month.
For the longer history of the universe Jha is building, our piece on how a gritty indie thriller sparked a franchise remains the best place to start.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Lakadbaggha 2 world premiere?
First Ray Films has announced the world premiere for 6 November 2026 at 6pm at the Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival in Bruges, Belgium. One trade report gave the date as 7 November, so check the festival schedule.
Who stars in Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business?
Anshuman Jha, who also directs, returns as Arjun Bakshi, with Sarah-Jane Dias in a central role and Adil Hussain in the cast. Earlier coverage also named Sunny Pang, Dan Chupong and Vikram Kochhar.
When does Lakadbaggha 2 release in India?
The theatrical release has moved from 6 November 2026 to early 2027, avoiding a clash with Ramayana: Part 1.
What is Lakadbaggha 2 about?
The sequel follows the animal-loving vigilante into the illegal primate trade and a wider wildlife trafficking network, with the story moving into the forests of Indonesia.
What else has Sarah-Jane Dias acted in?
Her credits include Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum, Angry Indian Goddesses, Zubaan, Viceroy's House, Inside Edge, Tandav, Never Kiss Your Best Friend and The Buckingham Murders.
Kenneth Hopkins is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AltBollywood. Indofuturist, posthumanist and unapologetically Indocentric, he describes himself as an epimemeticist, a swaraji, a freakonomist, a lexicographer and a cartochronicler, mapping the ideas, words and quiet shifts that shape Indian entertainment. Follow him on Instagram at @kennethhopkins.
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