Vibe (2026): Kunal Kemmu’s Comic Craft Stalls When the Espionage Begins

Two thoroughly unqualified friends, one fresh out of rehab, the other a by-the-book software developer, stumble onto a terrorist plot and decide the nation is theirs to save. Hardik and Bugs bicker through ordinary domestic scenes with the timing of men who have clearly done this for years. That ease is the film’s engine.

Kunal Kemmu Plays Hardik Like a Man Who Forgot to Panic

Kemmu commits to loony, lazy, lowbrow comedy as Hardik, and the freshly-out-of-rehab setup gives his drifting a quiet floor. He never begs you to find the slacker lovable, which is why the film’s funniest beats land on his face rather than his punchlines.

The situational comedy of the first half is where his instincts are sharpest, especially in the loose everyday exchanges with Bugs. He plays an idiot as a man with a plan, which is a harder comic ask than it looks.

He also wrote and directed the thing, and that control shows in how much room he leaves his co-star. The performance balances idiocy and competence, and he tips it the right way often enough.

Kemmu the Director Trusts the Bromance; Kemmu the Writer Doesn’t Trust the Plot

The direction is best when nothing important is happening, two men arguing about nothing, filmed with affection and comic rhythm. IndiaForums called it “a chaotic, campy and thoroughly entertaining espionage comedy powered by sharp writing, quirky humour and terrific bromance, ” and the first half justifies most of that.

Once the mission begins, jokes get rationed and the film reaches for drama it hasn’t earned. IndiaForums handed it a 3.5/5, and that score flatters the opening hour.

Kemmu’s previous comedy, Madgaon Express, held its zing for longer. Here he raises the stakes to national security, and the trade is visible: bigger canvas, thinner laugh rate.

The Slapstick Half Works Because the Stakes Stay Personal

Situational humour and an anti-terror message shouldn’t share a frame, and for a long stretch here they do. The comedy works because the threat stays abstract until it doesn’t, and the camp is the point rather than the flaw. Desi flavour carries this action-comedy mix further than the plot does.

Preity Zinta’s action sequence as Madam H is the clearest proof the genre engine runs. She plays the handler with a wink, and the setpiece around her keeps the absurdity intact without dropping the tension. “Vibe is campy, chaotic, funny and unapologetically desi, ” IndiaForums wrote.

Then espionage takes centre stage and the choreography of jokes stops. The editing lets the second half breathe where it should sprint, and the drama never earns the silence. A 3.5/5 from News18 tracks almost exactly with that complaint.

The subgenre of ordinary men playing spy has a long, scrappy history on Hindi screens. Our Hindi Thriller reviews gather the ones that get the balance right.

Sparsh Shrivastava’s Bugs Is the Surprise the Film Keeps Wasting

Sparsh Shrivastava arrives with protective, nerdy energy and walks off with scenes he barely speaks in. His Bugs is the straight man the comedy needs, and casting him signals Kemmu wanted a foil, not a second jester.

Preity Zinta gets the film’s best action-comedy moments as Madam H, playing authority without stiffness. Choosing a familiar star for the handler role is deliberate: the film needs a face that can sell the shift into espionage.

Yashpal Sharma and Sharmila Tagore anchor the edges as Rawal and the Home Minister, lending the conspiracy a bureaucratic weight the script only half uses. Their presence suggests Kemmu wanted the silliness to sit against something sturdy.

Vanshika Dhir and Dinesh Lal Yadav round out a roster with more names than the runtime can serve. That crowding is part of why the middle section feels busier than it is funny.

No One Is Boycotting Vibe Over an A Certificate

The CBFC handed Vibe an A certificate along with an anti-drug disclaimer at the start and modifications to expletives, News9live reported. For a film whose hero has just left rehab, that disclaimer lands as accidental irony.

No political firestorm surrounds the release, and audiences have largely shrugged at the certification.