Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari Review: It serves a cocktail of romance, comedy & glossy wedding drama

Bollywood weddings are never just about weddings. They’re about drama, music, colours, heartbreak, reunion, and the occasional bhaang-induced dance number that makes you wonder if love stories really need logic when they’ve got chiffon sarees, Udaipur palaces, and snappy one-liners. Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, directed by Shashank Khaitan, is exactly that, a buffet of romance, chaos, and full-blown Dharma aesthetics. The problem is that sometimes the buffet forgets to serve the main course. But to its credit, the film is never boring.

Love in the Time of Destination Weddings

We meet Sunny, played with infectious charm by Varun Dhawan, a Delhi lad whose family runs a jewellery business and whose life is as shiny as his showroom. He is in love with Ananya, played by Sanya Malhotra, and proposes to her, only to be brutally rejected. Adding salt to his wound, Ananya is engaged to Vikram, the polished heir of a business empire. Heartbroken but not ready to give up, Sunny ropes in Tulsi Kumari, Janhvi Kapoor in a glossy avatar, who just happens to be Vikram’s long-time ex. Together, they gatecrash the shaadi, throwing themselves into the chaos of wedding festivities, and somewhere between sangeets, Holi songs and family banter, Sunny finds himself falling for Tulsi.

The twist arrives when Ananya admits that she still loves Sunny, leaving him torn between old love and unexpected new chemistry. The setup is familiar, but Khaitan packages it in bright colours and designer costumes that make it watchable even when the story feels predictable.

First Half: Meta, Mimicry, and Madness

The first half is where the film truly finds its rhythm. Varun Dhawan is a riot, throwing himself into mimicry and meta references that keep the energy high. He breaks into Salman Khan-style impressions, Driver! Shera gaadi chala! and tosses in cheeky digs at bad acting with lines like “Itni buri acting nahi karni thi, yaar, jaise Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon”. These moments land well, drawing chuckles not just because they’re funny but because they feel like little winks at the audience.

There are also fun cameos sprinkled in, and while there aren’t many, one in the climax is guaranteed to send Netflix’s Mismatched fans into a frenzy. The jokes don’t all work, but enough of them do, keeping the first half breezy, madcap, and genuinely entertaining.

The Dharma Template: Glossy and Grand

A Dharma film is never subtle, and Khaitan embraces that unapologetically. The weddings are lavish, the costumes are exquisite, and every frame bursts with colour. There are shades of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and even Jug Jugg Jeeyo sprinkled across the narrative. Sometimes it’s charming, sometimes it feels repetitive, but there’s no denying the visual pleasure.

Maniesh Paul, with his endless one-liners, feels like he has walked straight out of Jug Jugg Jeeyo into this wedding, bringing both energy and excess. It’s the kind of film where the glossiness itself becomes a character, at times distracting from the story but at others carrying it forward.

Performances and Punchlines

The film is anchored firmly by Varun Dhawan. He is at his most uninhibited, sliding from mimicry to earnestness with ease, and his energy keeps the film afloat even when the writing falters. Janhvi Kapoor, as Tulsi, is not just a pretty face here, she brings an unexpected lightness to the comic scenes and looks convincingly vulnerable when the script demands it. Together, Varun and Janhvi share an easy chemistry that makes you root for their pairing.

Sanya Malhotra doesn’t get the meat she deserves, but her rejection scene early on hits with quiet force. Rohit Saraf, meanwhile, looks the part of the perfect groom, though his character is drawn a little too safe to really sparkle. Still, he gets his moment in the climax, one that will especially delight fans of his Mismatched days. Maniesh Paul, on the other hand, does what Maniesh Paul always does, cracks jokes, adds spice, and occasionally tips over into excess. Akshay Oberoi as Param gets his due with a decent screen presence and while you might probably dislike his character, he wins as a performer.

What Doesn’t Work: Logic and Emotional Depth

For all its laughter and gloss, the film misses the one ingredient that could have elevated it, emotional heft. There isn’t a single moment in the climax that tugs at your heartstrings or leaves you teary-eyed. The resolution comes too conveniently, leaning on filmi shortcuts rather than building towards a payoff that resonates.

The screenplay also takes such wild liberties that even in a Bollywood rom-com, they feel exaggerated. Certain situations are so unbelievable that they pull you out of the story, but because this is a love story, you find yourself willing to suspend disbelief, because love, after all, just needs a yes.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is like that Instagram reel that you watch, laugh at, and swipe past without remembering later. It is colourful, funny, and occasionally charming, but it never moves you. For those looking for a weekend escape filled with wedding chaos, ex drama, cheeky meta jokes and Varun Dhawan in his OG form, this film delivers exactly that. In the end, it is love that wins, because in Bollywood, all it takes is for the girl to finally say yes.