Kunal Kemmu’s Vibe arrives with a promising mix of comedy, action, friendship and espionage, but the film struggles to maintain that energy throughout its runtime. What begins as a genuinely fun ride gradually loses steam after the interval, leaving a film that works in parts but ultimately feels more suited for an OTT watch.
Kunal Kemmu directs and writes Vibe, which follows Hardik Sharma and his best friend Bhagirath aka Bugs as they unexpectedly find themselves caught up in a dangerous mission. The film also stars Preity Zinta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Vanshika Dhir, Yashpal Sharma and Dinesh Lal Yadav.
The CBFC has given the film an A certificate, and it runs for approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes. Interestingly, the censor board retained all the action sequences and asked the makers to make only limited changes, including muting one profanity and adding an anti-drug disclaimer.
Performances: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
If there is one reason to watch Vibe in theatres, it is Kunal Kemmu. The actor stays completely in his zone here. Hardik is messy, immature and often clueless, but Kemmu’s comic timing makes the character incredibly watchable. At times, the entire film feels like it sits on one side while Kunal Kemmu carries the other. He single-handedly drives several sequences.
Sparsh Shrivastava delivers another major positive. As Bugs, he brings completely different energy to the film and works extremely well opposite Kemmu. After Laapataa Ladies, the actor once again proves that he can surprise audiences with a very different performance. His chemistry with Kemmu easily ranks among the film’s biggest strengths.
Preity Zinta makes a decent comeback as Madam H and brings authority and a different flavour to the otherwise chaotic world. The supporting cast, including Yashpal Sharma and Dinesh Lal Yadav, adds to the madness.
Interestingly, several reviews have also highlighted the chemistry between Kemmu and Shrivastava as one of the film’s strongest elements.
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Screenplay & Direction: ⭐️⭐️
This is where Vibe starts losing its grip. The first half works considerably better, with funny situations, entertaining conversations and a relatively smooth pace. Several dialogues genuinely land, and the film creates moments where the audience can simply sit back and enjoy the madness.
But after the interval, the screenplay becomes increasingly laggy and overstuffed. Instead of trusting the chemistry between Hardik and Bugs, the film keeps adding more action, twists and complications.
The spy angle becomes heavier, the narrative jumps from one development to another, and some sequences stretch unnecessarily. Several reviews echo this criticism. India Today praised the film’s comic personality but pointed out that the screenplay becomes overloaded, while Moneycontrol felt that the comedy loses momentum once the film shifts more heavily towards action.
The direction works decently in the first half, but the second half includes sequences that test your patience. Vibe simply needed a tighter screenplay.
Cinematography & Technical Work: ⭐️⭐️
Visually, Vibe delivers some good-looking portions, particularly when the film focuses on its characters and comic situations. However, the action portions do not consistently impress. Several sequences lack the impact you expect from a theatrical action-comedy, while the editing does not always maintain the momentum.
The action becomes especially irritating in the second half because the screenplay already struggles to maintain its pace. That said, the background score adds energy to the film, particularly during the more chaotic sequences.
Music: ⭐️⭐️
The background score works reasonably well, but the songs fail to leave much of an impression. Amit Trivedi’s contemporary music has received positive mentions from some critics, while John Stewart Eduri’s background score adds energy to the action and comedy.
Personally, however, the songs do not add enough to the overall experience.
Dialogues & Comedy: ⭐️⭐️½
The dialogues deliver a mixed experience. The first half contains some genuinely funny moments, and several scenes could easily create a lively theatre atmosphere through their one-liners and character interactions.
Kunal Kemmu clearly understands the comic rhythm of his characters. His chemistry with Sparsh remains particularly effective, and the film works best whenever the two simply interact. Unfortunately, not every joke lands.
Once the screenplay becomes more complicated, the humour also becomes repetitive and occasionally irritating.This is exactly where the film needed more restraint.
The Biggest Problem: It Tries To Do Too Much
The biggest issue with Vibe is not that it is completely bad, it is that the film contains a better version of itself. The friendship between Hardik and Bugs provides enough entertainment to carry the movie. The first half proves that. But instead of keeping the story centred around their chemistry, the film keeps expanding its spy world and adding increasingly complicated developments.
The film also contains several callbacks and references that have led fans to speculate about a possible connection with Kunal Kemmu’s earlier films Madgaon Express and Go Goa Gone. Kemmu has acknowledged having ideas around a potential shared universe, although no concrete crossover has been confirmed.
Final Verdict: Vibe is not a complete disaster. It delivers enough entertainment, strong performances and genuinely funny moments to keep you engaged especially during its first half.
But the boring second half, laggy screenplay and underwhelming action presentation stop it from becoming the consistently entertaining film it could have been.
For Kunal Kemmu fans, the film offers enough to justify a theatrical watch, particularly because of his performance and chemistry with Sparsh Shrivastava. For everyone else, however, Vibe feels more like an OTT-worthy affair than a must-watch theatrical experience.
Preity Zinta Returns To The Big Screen With ‘Vibe’
Vibe also marks an important theatrical return for Preity Zinta, who plays intelligence officer Madam H. The actress has spoken about how unusual it feels for her to watch herself on screen, adding another interesting dimension to her comeback.
