Sep 18, 2026 11:59am IST
‘Vibe’ Review: This Kunal Kemmu-Led Silly Spy Comedy Hits All the Right Notes; It’s Mission Laughable
Much like “Stree” revolutionized the horror-comedy landscape and became a successful franchise, Kunal Kemmu directorial “Vibe” looks set to popularise the spy-comedy genre, a format practically unprecedented in Hindi cinema. The birth of a genre in Indian cinema, for sure; and a franchise is probably already cooking.
Hardik (Kunal Kemmu) and Bugs (Sparsh Shrivastava), two boys from I.T., unwittingly find themselves in a dangerous situation, involving agents and terrorists, turning their lives upside down. Most films in this genre run out of steam as they go along. And “Vibe,” too, has an uneven journey. It veers wildly from hilarity to harebrained and back again. The second half of the film dials down the comedy while upping the action and drama. The giddy laughter from the first half becomes stray giggles, giving Kemmu the opportunity to flash abs and arms in a thrilling action scene. Kemmu is the soul of “Vibe” – outlandishly brilliant with comedy – both writing and performing. It has dozens of inside jokes ranging from Bobby Deol and Kareena Kapoor Khan to Huma Qureshi. The dialogues will follow you out of the theatres and stay with you for days.
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The talented Kunal and Shrivastava lead this witty and crazy film. Their dynamic channels the peak energy of ’90s buddy comedies, evoking the classic pairings of Govinda-Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan-Anil Kapoor. Though “Vibe” is ultimately Kemmu’s show, it’s equally great as a comedic showcase for Shrivastava, who strives to match Kemmu’s physicality and willingness to look foolish (Kemmu’s biggest strength) for the sake of a laugh.
Kemmu has nailed this exact brand of buddy camaraderie before in “Madgaon Express.” All the actors come up aces, too. Preity Zinta, as Madam H, is a nod to M from Bond films, ICYMI. Vanisha Dheer as Kareena makes an impressive debut. While the film’s promotional campaign was built on Sharmila Tagore’s cameo, it’s disappointingly just one scene.
The weird bonus in “Vibe” is the music. For example, “Rafta Rafta” can best be described as a desi version of “Manic Monday.” Office-goers will find relatability in the depiction of corporate life. As will the date-night shenanigans with the young and the restless.
Kemmu’s greatest asset as a director is bringing together talented and funny people. There are so many standout hilarious scenes: from the lie detector test one, where Kemmu tries to say his name without sending the test results into overdrive, to the taser-in-the-pants scene. When Hardik explains why he lets Bugs care for him, it instantly echoes Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic comic timing (as Jai) in “Sholay” during the Mausiji proposal scene.
The ‘Thank You’ credit for Hrithik Roshan in the opening credits had people at this writer’s screening lingering for that post-credit scene that thankfully doesn’t exist. Kunal Kemmu’s commitment to the genre and some truly wonderful set pieces give “Vibe” more laugh-out-loud moments than any other mainstream comedy so far this year.
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