‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ review: Bollywood comfort food, reheated

Shashank Khaitan’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari feels like a film that’s already over before it begins. The title practically spoils its own ending. What we experience is a 135-minute journey which is more of a decorative detour than a meaningful ride. Packed with lavish costumes, picturesque Udaipur, endless pre-wedding functions, than one can count, this is the kind of movie that dazzles the eyes but barely stirs emotions. Khaitan and producers Dharma have embraced what one could call ‘wedding album cinema’—opulent sets, attractive costumes and meticulous staging. High on style, but low on logic or storyline.

Sunny Sanskari (Varun Dhawan) is heir to a family jewellery empire. Hopelessly in love with Ananya (Sanya Malhotra), he’s ready with his grand proposal, along with appropriate hashtags.

Except, she’s not having it. She declares that theirs was never a relationship, just a “situationship”. She has opted instead for an arranged marriage to Vikram Singh (Rohit Saraf), a Delhi high society groom with all the right boxes ticked.

Sunny is not so ‘sanskari’ (cultured, well-mannered) when he decides to team up with Vikram’s heartbroken ex Tulsi Kumari (Janhvi Kapoor) to sabotage and break up Vikram and Ananya’s wedding. Even though Tulsi and Sunny pose as a couple, this is not a tangled emotional quadrangle.

Khaitan barely invests in the emotional groundwork needed to make this setup land. There’s no real chemistry between Sunny and Ananya, so the prospect of a rekindling feels manufactured, not moving. Nor do we see much interaction between Vikram and Tulsi to believe theirs is a match made in heaven. By the time the interval arrives, with its supposed twist, only Sunny looks surprised—the audience saw it coming ages ago.

Around this flimsy plot, the film throws in a carousel of supporting characters and gimmicks. There’s Tulsi’s irritating best friend, who thankfully vanishes after a few scenes, but Sunny’s BFF Bantu (Abhinav Sharma) is committed to Sunny’s logic-free escapade. Maniesh Paul hams it up as Kuku, the wedding planner. Akshay Oberoi plays Vikram’s older brother Param, upholding a conservative patriarchal mindset. Karan Johar makes a cameo appearance and the final gimmick is a “show integration” that feels like a promo rather than a clever cameo.

Khaitan can’t resist peppering the film with movie references, which feel more authentic than the lip service to a message about gender equality and women holding onto their identities after marriage. Then there are throwaway dialogues like, “It’s a rich person’s wedding so there is no shortage of functions”, which is perhaps meant to justify the endless events.

And yes, there are so many songs. From sangeets to holi songs to ballads, the film throws function after function at the audience. The costumes dazzle in every frame, and the production design leaves nothing to chance. But when every scene looks like a glossy wedding tableau, the human story at the centre starts to feel irrelevant.

Khaitan, who has had a knack for refreshing old-school tropes with new energy, now seems caught in a loop of recycling his material. Much like director Raj Mehta’s Jugjugg Jeeyo from the same production house, this film too chooses spectacle over risks. It wants the comfort of tradition and the safety of formula without the bite of reality. The sad closing song precedes the predictable happy ending that restores the status quo. This is Bollywood comfort food—reheated.

The cast does their best. Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf bring some spark to Ananya and Vikram respectively, but a little too late. Dhawan gets a few moments of sincerity when delivering his truth bombs and is largely the captain of this wobbly love boat. But the characters are written in such broad, shallow strokes that no performance can break through the gloss, though Kapoor tries her best and shares infectious chemistry with Dhawan.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is like a glossy magazine: you flip through, admire the costumes and locations, look at the models, but nothing lingers once you close it.