Kunal Kemmu directs himself in an action comedy that knows it doesn't have to take itself too seriously — and that self-awareness is its biggest strength. Vibe entertains even when it's predictable.
I have a theory after watching Vibe, and I think we're witnessing something interesting in Bollywood right now: almost every male actor secretly wants to be an action hero.
Think about it. Shah Rukh Khan was the ultimate lover boy, the man who could make romance his biggest weapon. But today, even he has moved towards action. Yash has built his image around larger-than-life action, while actors like Sonu Sood and Kunal Kemmu have gone a step further and directed themselves in action films. And Kunal is one of the funniest actors we have!
Maybe there's something about action that actors simply can't resist. Romance can make you a star, but action lets you build an entire world around yourself. And honestly, audiences don't seem to mind who is doing it, as long as the film entertains.
And that brings me to Vibe.
Kunal Kemmu directs himself in this action comedy about two ordinary friends, Hardik and Bugs, who find themselves caught up in a terrorist plot and are pulled into a mission that is way beyond anything they have ever experienced. Preity Zinta plays the intelligence officer who brings them into this dangerous situation, while Sparsh Shrivastava joins Kunal as the unlikely action partner.
The biggest strength of Vibe is that it knows it doesn't have to take itself too seriously. Kunal Kemmu brings his comic timing into an action setup, and that combination makes the film entertaining even when the story gets predictable.
But then comes the villain.
Somewhere, there must be a rule book titled "How to Make a Movie Villain." Put him in a Middle Eastern country, give him a beard, name him Abbu Sayed, surround him with guns, and you're done. We've seen this template so many times that it feels less like character writing and more like ticking boxes from a filmmaking manual. Vibe follows that formula a little too faithfully.
There are also plenty of moments where you can see the film choosing entertainment over logic. But that's not necessarily a problem if the entertainment is working. And here, for the most part, it does.
Kunal's biggest achievement is probably getting the tone right. He doesn't try to suddenly turn himself into a super-serious action hero. The humour remains part of his personality, and that makes the action more accessible and fun.
Sparsh Shrivastava is a good fit for this world, Vanshika Dhir too makes a significant impact with the role she is given, the casting is good, the chemistry between the two helps carry the lighter moments. Preity Zinta brings her own charm to the film, and it's genuinely nice to see her in this kind of space again.
The action is decent, the pace keeps moving, and there are enough laughs to make the film an easy watch. It doesn't reinvent the spy-action-comedy genre, and the villain track feels particularly familiar, but Vibe isn't trying to be that film.
And perhaps that's the simplest way to look at it. You can question the logic, you can predict where some of it is going, and you can definitely complain about the villain rulebook.
Vibe wants to entertain its audience, and it largely succeeds.
3 stars out of 5.