The Bollywood comedy "Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai," starring Varun Dhawan, premiered in India on June 5, 2026 [1].

The film's reception highlights a growing tension between nostalgic 1990s cinematic styles and contemporary audience sensibilities. While the movie seeks to revive a vintage era of comedy, critics suggest the approach may alienate modern viewers.

Directed by David Dhawan, the film features Varun Dhawan in the lead role alongside co-stars Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde [1]. Many reviewers said the production relies too heavily on slapstick humor and politically incorrect jokes that feel out of step with current times [2], [3], [4].

One reviewer from The Week said, "Despite a potentially sharp premise for a relationship comedy, the movie opts for broad slapstick and contrived situations with dated humour" [3]. The critique suggests that the film fails to evolve the comedy genre, instead opting for a formula that feels stagnant.

The Indian Express said the film feels like a relic of a politically incorrect era [2]. This sentiment is shared by other major outlets, including NDTV, which said the work is a vintage comedy stuck in the 1990s [5].

Public reaction on social media has been similarly polarized. Some viewers have labeled the film a "proper brainrot family entertainer" [6]. Despite the critical panning of its humor, some reviews noted that the lead actors still manage to deliver occasional laughs in an otherwise flawed entertainer [4].

The film represents a reunion of the Dhawan father-son duo, attempting to capture the commercial magic of 20th-century Bollywood comedies. However, the consensus among critics is that the nostalgia is not enough to mask the dated nature of the script [2], [5].

“The film feels like a relic of a politically incorrect era.”

The critical reception of 'Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai' underscores a shift in Indian cinema where the 'mass' comedy formulas of the 1990s are no longer universally accepted. The disconnect between David Dhawan's signature style and modern sensibilities suggests that nostalgia alone cannot sustain a film's appeal if the humor is perceived as obsolete or offensive by current standards.