Director: David Dhawan Rating: **½
Released today, June 5, 2026, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai serves as a monumental milestone for Bollywood—marking the final directorial venture of comedy maestro David Dhawan before his official retirement from filmmaking.
Reuniting with his son Varun Dhawan, the veteran director tries to recreate the chaotic, colorful magic of his '90s blockbusters. While the film wears its loud, unapologetic nonsense proudly on its sleeve, it struggles with an outdated comedic language, leaving it to walk a fine line between vintage nostalgia and lazy writing.
The Story & Script
The narrative is a spiritual successor to classic David Dhawan "two-timing" capers like Biwi No. 1 and Saajan Chale Sasural, but with a modern twist on relationship boundaries. The story revolves around Jass (Varun Dhawan), a hyper-energetic guy whose wife, Bani (Mrunal Thakur), pushes for a divorce because she simply cannot keep up with his exhaustion-inducing pace and high lifestyle expectations. Desperate to start a family, a heartbroken Jass eventually picks up the pieces and moves on with Preet (Pooja Hegde).
The real madness explodes post-interval when Jass discovers that through a wild turn of events, both women are simultaneously pregnant—and he is the father of both children. The script, written by Yunus Sajawal with dialogues by Farhad Samji, spends the second half frantically tracking Jass as he runs across London trying to keep the two women, their eccentric families, and an overprotective brother from discovering each other.
Direction & Screenplay
David Dhawan’s directorial signature is unmistakable—bright costumes, hyper-stylized sets, and rapid-fire situational misunderstandings. However, the screenplay suffers from a massive pacing imbalance. Virtually nothing of consequence happens in the first hour, making the setup feel incredibly sluggish.
When the chaos finally kicks in during the second half, the film finds its footing but then overstays its welcome, milking the tracking gag all the way to an over-the-top, drawn-out climax. Encouragingly, the script makes an effort not to normalize toxic infidelity tropes like older comedies did, framing the mess as a genuine comedy of errors rather than malicious deception.
Performances
Varun Dhawan: Varun enters absolute "beast mode," pulling straight from his Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2 playbook. He sprints, stumbles, and panics with infectious enthusiasm. While the writing occasionally fails him, his sheer physical commitment to the bit carries the movie.
Mrunal Thakur & Pooja Hegde: Both actresses fully understand the assignment. The script doesn't demand heavy dramatic weight; instead, it requires them to look glamorous, dance flawlessly, and play the perfect reactive counters to Varun’s absolute madness. They execute this beautifully.
Jimmy Sheirgill: Playing Preet’s intensely protective, gun-toting brother, Sheirgill is a major highlight. His stone-faced, deadpan threats provide a brilliant contrast to the colorful slapstick unfolding around him.
Supporting & Cameos: Maniesh Paul and Chunky Panday offer decent support, while a meta-comedy sequence involving Mouni Roy posing as a fake mother sparks some of the film's funniest pop-culture one-liners.
Music & Technical Craft
The Music: The soundtrack by Tanishk Bagchi and White Noise Collectives misses a truly original, defining chartbuster. However, the film leans heavily into the nostalgia factor, utilizing a reworked version of the classic track "Chunari Chunari" to instantly energize the theatrical crowd.
Cinematography: Shot by Ayananka Bose, the film presents a slick, highly polished, and postcard-perfect version of London that feels incredibly premium, even if it feels a bit like a high-budget music video.
Final Verdict
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai asks very little of its audience beyond a total surrender to logic-free commercial madness. It is bogged down by a sluggish first half, a bloated runtime, and a few dated fat-shaming jokes that feel lazy for 2026. Yet, once the second-half situational comedy takes over, the laughs do begin to flow. It stands as a flawed but affectionate farewell to David Dhawan's legendary career.
