Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari movie review: Watching Varun, Janhvi try to make the story work is fun, but frustrating

SUnny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari motion show reviewDirector: Shashank KhaitanCast: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra and Rohit SarafRating: ★★.5In every frame up of Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari that featured Janhvi Kapoor, I couldn’t facilitate but picture Alia Bhatt instead. Her betimes years gave us the breezy Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014), followed by Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), both directed by Shashank Khaitan. Neither was flawless, but together they bottled the rush of young love, with Alia and Varun Dhawan’s chemistry making them crackle onscreen. These are the kind of roles that were tailor made for both to them.Watching SSKTK, I realised it is not just that Alia I miss, it is those films themselves... Their innocent charm and the emotional pull.The plotAnyway, this one too is directed by Shashank. The story follows Sunny (Varun), left heartbroken when his girlfriend Ananya (Sanya Malhotra) caves in to parental pressure and agrees to marry the wealthy Vikram (Rohit Saraf). Vikram, in turn, leaves behind Tulsi (Janhvi). Nursing broken hearts, Sunny and Tulsi team up to crash the wedding of their exes and reclaim their love. The question is, can they pull it off?The first half takes a long time to find its rhythm. You wait for some sizzle, a few one liners to break the monotony. They do come, but on their own terms. Sunny pokes fun at his terrible poems at one point, cracking everyone up with, "Rahman ka music aur meri shayari dono dheere dheere hit hote hain." You wish the film had more of this spark, but such moments are few. Varun and Janhvi look good together, yet the story itself lacks surprises. You can predict its moves from a kilometre away. The only person fully invested is Varun, who has mastered these goofy characters to the point of effortlessness. He is the one who keeps you in your seat.The second half, though, turns into a muddle as confusing as the idea of love itself. The story stretches unnecessarily, going in circles as none of the four leads can decide who they really want. By the end, it is hard to care about who ends up with whom. Manan Sagar and Charu Shree Roy, the editors on the film, ought to have trimmed out the excess.The verdictThe core idea of the film, that nobody should have to sacrifice love due to familial pressure, is lost because the families themselves never convince you. The writing by Shashank and Ishita Moitra leans so heavily on the romances that it forgets to build the families who are supposed to shape them.That is the curious case of SSKTK. Ishita and Shashank also co wrote Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, a film that worked precisely because the families were as compelling as the central love story. What goes wrong here is the refusal to give that same depth. The climax feels rushed, and the ending leaves you neither moved nor smiling.In the performance department, Varun keeps you entertained, grasping the beats well. Janhvi looks pretty and is earnest throughout, but stumbles in the emotional scenes which should ideally reduce you to a mess. Sanya struggles with an underwritten role, managing to execute it purely because of her acting chops. Rohit performs well. Maniesh Paul as a wedding planner evokes some laughs.The music by Tanishk Bagchi, A.P.S, Sachet–Parampara, Guru Randhawa, Rony Ajnali and Gill Machhrai suits the film. Panwaadi stands out.Overall, what Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari suffers from is not a lack of ambition but a lack of clarity. It wants to be a romance and a family drama all at once, yet it never commits fully to any of these tracks. For a story about fighting for love, SSKTK doesn't make you fall in love with it.