Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is a vibrant, quintessential Bollywood wedding rom-com that delivers exactly what its genre and star cast promise—colorful spectacle, lively music, sentimental romance, and comedic confusion. While the film fails to reinvent the wheel and often sticks too close to familiar tropes, strong performances—especially from Varun Dhawan—energetic choreography, and its grand visual scale ensure a crowd-pleasing experience for viewers seeking escapist, family-friendly entertainment.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari - Story & plot
The story follows Sunny (Varun Dhawan), a happy-go-lucky Delhi boy, who plans to propose to his girlfriend Ananya (Sanya Malhotra), only to be heartbreakingly rejected. Ananya reveals she’s engaged to Vikram (Rohit Saraf), a wealthy businessman her family prefers. Vikram, in a parallel plotline, has just broken up with Tulsi Kumari (Janhvi Kapoor), his childhood sweetheart, under family pressure because her parents are divorced—a perceived social shortcoming.
Refusing to give up on love, Sunny teams up with the heartbroken Tulsi to “win back” their respective exes. The duo crash Vikram and Ananya’s destination wedding in Udaipur, pretending to be a couple. Their presence sparks a chain reaction of jealousy, confusion, and suppressed feelings. As events unfold—replete with comic misunderstandings, dramatic showdowns, and colorful ceremonies—Sunny and Tulsi realize they might be better off together, coming to terms with love, heartbreak, and self-respect during the wedding’s madcap chaos.
Amid emotional confessions and a series of misunderstandings, the story explores not just romantic entanglements, but also questions of family expectations, choosing oneself, and overcoming societal prejudices regarding divorce and class. The film culminates in Sunny and Tulsi putting their newfound self-worth ahead of toxic relationships, with a climactic reconciliation that leaves viewers with the customary feel-good Bollywood finale.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari - Acting & direction
Varun Dhawan as Sunny
Varun Dhawan propels the film as its energetic, impulsive heart. He handles the goofy-yet-lovable hero routine with ease, infusing the film with much-needed charisma even when the script falters. His comic timing and ability to switch between physical humor and emotional vulnerability anchor many of the film’s key moments.
Janhvi Kapoor as Tulsi Kumari
Janhvi Kapoor shines as the emotionally bruised but principled Tulsi. Her performance is understated and sincere, bringing both resilience and depth to her role. However, the screenplay doesn’t always allow her to explore the full emotional arc her character deserves.
Supporting Cast
Sanya Malhotra (Ananya) and Rohit Saraf (Vikram) make solid contributions. Malhotra portrays a conflicted modern woman caught between family duty and personal dreams with sensitivity, but her character’s journey feels underdeveloped. Saraf, on the other hand, delivers a credible portrayal of a “good on paper” NRI, struggling between familial obligation and real affection. Maniesh Paul, in his usual comic relief avatar, brings light moments but largely sticks to familiar territory.
Shashank Khaitan’s Direction
Director Shashank Khaitan aims for an extravagant, high-energy wedding entertainer akin to his successful ‘Dulhania’ series. His expertise shows in set pieces and musical sequences, but the narrative suffers from predictability and pacing issues. The first half takes its time finding rhythm, and the second half stretches the complications thin. The climax is energetic but hurried, failing to provide a deeply satisfying resolution.
Screenplay, Writing, and Dialogues
The screenplay, penned by Shashank Khaitan and Ishita Moitra, sticks to tried-and-tested beats—a blend of romance, humor, emotional confrontations, and lavish ceremonies. While the banter and situational comedy work in parts, too many gags feel recycled. Dialogues deliver the necessary levity, especially in comedic set pieces, but lack the zing and quotability of classic Bollywood rom-coms. Theme-wise, the film deserves credit for addressing issues like divorced parent stigma and encouraging characters to break out of “sanskar” (conservative) expectations, but these themes are never fully explored.
Cinematography, Production Design, and Costumes
The film unabashedly embraces the grand Dharma Productions visual style. Cinematographer Vishnu Rao captures the “big-fat-Indian-wedding” aesthetic with bright colors, elaborate décor, and high-energy dance numbers. Every frame is art-directed for visual splendor—the palatial Udaipur setting, vibrant costumes, and extravagant set pieces ooze affluence and occasion. The costume design deserves special mention for both giving the leads eye-popping wedding looks and maintaining authenticity in slightly more grounded moments.
Music and Choreography
Music, another crucial component, is a standout asset. Songs like “Ishq Manzoor,” “Panwadi,” and the remixed “Bijuria” provide high-energy moments and are already charting on playlists. “Panwadi” in particular, with its foot-tapping choreography, is a crowd favorite and a visual spectacle in the film. However, the placement of songs sometimes disrupts narrative flow—they are clearly meant for marketing and spectacle rather than advancing the plot.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari - Final verdict
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is Bollywood comfort food—familiar, colorful, and entertaining, but not very nourishing if one seeks novelty or depth. Its appeal lies in energetic performances, lavish scale, melodious tracks, and an undemanding story. While it misses a chance to explore its more thought-provoking themes about love, agency, and social prejudices, it more than makes up for it by providing wholesome escapism—a dependable festive watch for families and genre fans, if not a memorable cinematic milestone.
Strengths
- Crowd Appeal: The film is designed as a family entertainer and succeeds in offering escapist fun, with laughs, vivid visuals, and lively dance numbers—the type of wholesome entertainment Indian audiences expect during the festive season.
- Performances: Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor inject sincerity and energy into their roles, keeping the viewer invested even as the story meanders.
- Production Values: Lavish sets, flamboyant costumes, and grand choreography ensure every scene is a visual treat.
- Music: Several tracks stand out on their own, contributing significantly to the film’s festive energy.
Weaknesses
- Predictable Storyline: The film follows a very formulaic path, recycling familiar tropes from the genre—the intricately staged wedding confusion, fake relationships, and last-minute emotional epiphanies, all of which feel rather safe and uninspired.
- Writing and Depth: Character development, especially for the supporting cast, is often shallow. The script doesn’t give new or memorable emotional beats; it simply goes through the motions of what is expected in such a rom-com.
- Repetitive Humor: Many comedic gags are rehashed and fail to land with impact; some jokes feel dated even amid the glossy packaging.
- Pacing and Focus: The narrative is disjointed at times, especially post-interval. The film lingers on comedic diversions and overstays its welcome in certain subplots, making the latter half feel stretched.
Box Office Performance
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari opened to a positive reception, especially from family audiences and fans of the genre. In its first 15 days at the Indian box office, the film grossed nearly ₹59.88 crore, making it the third highest-grossing film of Janhvi Kapoor’s career so far. Its global gross is estimated at ₹85.28 crore, indicating strong diaspora appeal thanks to its universal themes and “wedding spectacle” formula. The film faced stiff competition from other festive releases but held its ground with consistent numbers in urban multiplexes and Tier II cities.
Comparison with Genre and Recent Films
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari fits comfortably into the canon of Dharma Productions wedding rom-coms, very much in the spirit of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania. However, it offers little innovation or surprise relative to its predecessors. The film stands out primarily due to its cast chemistry, production values, and timely festive release rather than its storytelling prowess. Compared to 2025 blockbusters like Kantara: Chapter 1, whose box office dominance is fueled by novelty and regional pride, SSKTK feels safer and more commercial, but successfully achieves the core objective of a “festival entertainer”.
If you enjoy “wedding chaos” comedies, dance-filled spectacles, and the charm of Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor pairing, then Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari is worth a watch—ideally with family during a festival weekend. It won’t change your perspective on Bollywood or romantic comedies, but it will offer two-and-a-half hours of visually stunning, easygoing fun.
Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari movie rating – 7/10 stars