Nakhrewaalii Review: A Charming 2026 Bollywood Rom-Com

Ansh Duggal plays Sumit Mishra, a young man so smitten with Paridhi (Pragati Srivastava) that he resorts to the oldest trick in the romantic playbook: dressing as a woman to get close to her. What follows is the expected parade of close calls, comic misunderstandings, and increasingly elaborate lies that threaten to topple at any moment. Around him orbits a gallery of characters - Jhaadi (Akash Makhija), Batuk (Gopal Datt), Rai Saab (Kumud Mishra), Mihika (Aayush Verma), Seema (Kajol Bhadana), and Sardar (Rishi Raj Bhasin) - each tasked with keeping the farce spinning. The screenplay, credited to Shanklya's team, knows the beats of this genre by heart and hits them with workmanlike precision. Where it stumbles is in finding a reason for the deception beyond the obvious: the emotional stakes never quite justify the lengths Sumit goes to, and the film's attempts to say something sincere about identity and honesty get buried under slapstick.

Let's start with what works. Ansh Duggal is genuinely game here - he throws himself into the dual physicality of the role with a sincerity that keeps the film from curdling into embarrassment. There's a lightness to his comic timing that suggests a star in the making, even when the material doesn't rise to meet him. Pragati Srivastava, meanwhile, gives Paridhi more spine than the script strictly requires, and the film is better whenever she's on screen.

The real pleasure, though, comes from the veterans. Gopal Datt and Kumud Mishra could read a grocery list and find the music in it, and here they bring a lived-in warmth that recalls the great character-actor ensembles of Hindi cinema's past. When the plot machinery starts to creak, they're the ones oiling it.

And creak it does. Shanklya directs with a functional competence - the songs are pleasant enough, the pacing is reasonable - but the film lacks visual personality, that extra layer of craft that separates a good comedy from a forgettable one. More damaging is the familiarity. Cross-dressing comedies have a long, complicated history in Bollywood, and Nakhrewaalii doesn't offer much that's new. It gestures toward sincerity in the third act, but the tonal shift feels unearned, as though the film suddenly remembered it needed a moral.

The runtime is also a factor. At 129 minutes, there's a good 20 minutes of wheel-spinning that could have been trimmed without losing anything essential. The subplot involving Rai Saab and Batuk is amusing but detours the narrative more than it enriches it.

Perhaps most telling is that TMDb currently lists the film at a 0/10 rating - a figure that reflects either a glitch in the database or the internet's early, merciless verdict. Either way, it's a number that does the film a disservice. This isn't a zero; it's a five with ambition.

Pros

• Ansh Duggal's committed, charismatic lead turn
• Gopal Datt and Kumud Mishra elevate every scene they touch
• Pragati Srivastava brings welcome steel to a thankless role
• A few genuinely funny set pieces in the first hour

Cons

• The premise feels recycled and the script rarely surprises
• Uneven pacing across the 129-minute runtime
• The third-act tonal shift toward sincerity doesn't land
• Shanklya's direction lacks visual distinction

Nakhrewaalii is the kind of film that's easier to admire than to love. It has a likable lead, a supporting cast doing heroic work, and a premise that promises more than it ultimately delivers. If you're in the mood for a low-stakes romance with a handful of laughs and don't mind the familiar scaffolding, it's an acceptable way to spend two hours. But with a sharper script and a firmer directorial hand, this could have been something genuinely special. As it stands, it's a decent date-night diversion that fades faster than it should - worth a stream, harder to recommend at full price.