Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari (2025) - Shashank Khaitan

Delhi’s chaotic, colourful heart has always been the perfect backdrop for a love story gone slightly off the rails, and Shashank Khaitan’s latest rom-com, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, leans into that chaos with the subtlety of a wedding band at 2 a.m. The film, which hit theatres on October 2, 2025, is a 136-minute whirlwind of mistaken identities, rekindled flames, and the kind of familial meddling that feels less like support and more like a coordinated ambush. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it’s having a very loud, very colourful time spinning it.

At the centre of this maelstrom are Varun Dhawan’s Sunny Sanskari and Janhvi Kapoor’s Tulsi Kumari. The premise is simple enough: two former lovers, now living in Delhi, find themselves thrust back into each other’s orbit. They’re not here to mend fences gently; they’re here to rekindle old flames, and the film’s marketing has been unapologetic about that. What follows, as the official synopsis promises, is a cascade of amusing mix-ups and outright deceptions. Think of it as a game of romantic Jenga where every pull threatens to topple the entire structure of their lives.

Dhawan, who has made a career out of playing the earnest yet slightly dim-witted charmer, is in his element here. Sunny isn’t just a name; it’s a personality type. He’s the kind of guy who believes a grand gesture can fix anything, even if that gesture involves a sprawling lie that’s bound to unravel in the third act. Kapoor’s Tulsi, meanwhile, is more grounded - a woman who thought she’d moved on, only to realise that the past has a nasty habit of showing up uninvited. Their chemistry is less about fiery passion and more about a comfortable, bickering familiarity. They’re not trying to impress each other; they’re trying to out-manoeuvre each other, and that’s where the comedy finds its footing.

The film’s ensemble is its secret weapon. Sanya Malhotra’s Ananya Bhatia and Rohit Saraf’s Vikram Singh are ostensibly part of the supporting cast, but they frequently threaten to steal the show. Malhotra, in particular, has a knack for deadpan delivery, and her scenes with Dhawan crackle with a different kind of energy - one that suggests the “unexpected new romance” promised in the plot might not be as unexpected as we think. Maniesh Paul’s Kuku serves as the requisite comic sidekick, providing a running commentary on the absurdity unfolding around him, while Akshay Oberoi’s Param Singh and Abhinav Sharma’s Bantu round out a roster of characters who are all, in their own way, lying to someone for what they think is a good reason.

What’s refreshing is how the film refuses to demonise its characters for their deceptions. No one here is a villain; they’re just people who are bad at communication, which, frankly, is far more relatable. The family dynamic, anchored by Manini Chadha’s Rakhee Singh, adds a layer of warmth that prevents the farce from feeling cold. It’s a film where everyone is shouting over each other at a dining table, but you get the sense that underneath the noise, they genuinely care.

That said, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is not without its rough edges. The TMDb rating of 5.909/10 suggests a divided audience, and it’s not hard to see why. The plot, while breezy, is predictable. You can clock the third-act reconciliation from the first thirty minutes, and Khaitan, who previously helmed the similarly inclined Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, doesn’t do much to subvert expectations. There are moments where the pacing drags, particularly in the middle stretch where the “mix-ups” start to feel less like clever plotting and more like a writer’s block workaround.

But here’s the thing about a film like this: it’s not aiming for critical immortality. It’s aiming for a Friday night out with your cousins, a bucket of popcorn, and a shared sense of “that’s exactly how my family would react.” It’s a film that understands that romance in India is never just between two people; it’s a committee decision. The joy isn’t in the destination - we know who ends up with whom - but in the ridiculous detours taken to get there.

By the time the end credits roll, the film has delivered exactly what it promised: a few laughs, a couple of near-tears, and the reaffirmation that love is messy, loud, and frequently involves someone pretending to be someone they’re not. In a landscape of high-concept actioners and gritty dramas, there’s a comforting, almost retro charm to a film that simply wants to ask, “What if two exes couldn’t let go?” and then answer with a two-hour-plus game of elaborate bluff. It’s not a cinematic landmark, but it is, in the truest sense of the word, a family affair. And sometimes, that’s more than enough.