Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai movie review: Varun Dhawan's comic caper is more exhausting than entertaining

For over three decades David Dhawan has been synonymous with loud unabashed entertainers packed with slapstick humour Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai marks his fourth outing with Varun Dhawan once again placing the actor at the centre of a chaotic romantic predicament Does it manage to raise laughs or fail in its endeavour Lets analyseStorylineHai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai follows the complicated romantic journey of Jaswinder Jass Varun Dhawan a passionate wedding photographer whose life takes an unexpected turn after meeting Bani Mrunal Thakur during a wedding assignment After getting inebriated they confess their love for each other and get marriedFive years into their marriage however cracks begin to appear While Jass dreams of starting a family Bani has no desire to become a parent Their conflicting views prompt Bani to seek a divorceView this post on InstagramA post shared by VarunDhawan varundvnHeartbroken by the separation Jass Varun Dhawan moves to London where he meets Preet Pooja Hegde and they fall in love Just when everything seems to be falling into place Jass receives an unexpected shock Bani suddenly reenters his life and reveals that she is pregnant with his child To make matters even more complicated Preet also discovers that she is expecting What ensues forms the rest of the story in the filmReviewHai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai will inevitably remind viewers of Biwi No 1 Once again the director serves old wine in a new bottle sticking to his triedandtested formula of chaotic comedy where logic takes a backseat Unfortunately this time even the humour struggles to keep paceDespite boasting an impressive ensemble cast and a dependable supporting lineup the film is let down by shoddy writing a weak screenplay and rushed editing To be fair the film doesnt take itself too seriously and expects the audience to do the same However that approach can only work when the comedy consistently landsJass and Banis journeymdashfrom their first meeting and whirlwind romance to marriage separation and eventually parenthoodmdashunfolds in the blink of an eye The narrative jumps around more unpredictably than a cricket ball on a cracked pitch Scenes appear and disappear without any organic flow making the storytelling feel disjointed and directionless Emotional moments come across as forced lengthy monologues test the viewers patience and the overly convenient resolution leaves little impactMost oneliners dont land The actors try too hard to bring out a cackle sometimes by resorting to hamming and sometimes through physical comedy There are a couple of gags that make you laugh but they are only as many as you can count on your fingersA surprise cameo is thrown into the mix to spice things up but it ends up being another missed opportunity in a film already struggling to find its footingTalking about the music it turns out to be a major letdown The songs vanish from your memory the moment you leave the theatrePerformancesThere is no denying that Varun Dhawan possesses excellent comic timing and a natural flair for commercial entertainers However in Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai he appears to be trying a little too hard often channelling the mannerisms and energy of Govinda and Salman Khan The performance frequently veers into overthetop territory making the character feel more exhausting than entertaining at timesThe girls Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur are merely reduced to arm candy Mouni Roy Maniesh Paul Chunky Panday Rakesh Bedi and Rajpal Yadav try their best to salvage this comic caper but the script doesnt support themConclusionOverall what could have been a breezy entertainer ultimately turns into a loud exhausting affair that struggles to justify its runtime