- Date of Release: 30 July 2026
- Genre: Comedy
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Bhai Tera Star Hai
Introduction
There are films that I love, there are films that I criticize, and then there are films like Bhai Tera Star Hai that are so random and so pointless, that I find increasingly hard to write on. It is like eating a sweet dish made of bitter gourd on an empty stomach. It is like scrolling through the menu of a food delivery app, only to go to bed on an empty stomach. It is the meme equivalent of the tune ‘Faaaaaaaaaahhhh’ that has been trending for a while. In fact, it is so tedious and so overlong despite a humble runtime of 105 minutes that I found myself aging through its runtime. And my review of it would have still been the same, had this been a reel, or an email, or a whatsapp message, or an SMS – or even a letter, that would in hindsight have atleast saved upon the crucial pennies of a production budget. And in case you are still wondering on why am I loitering around this review without getting into the mix, it is purely because this is that one film that I have nothing much to write about – no scene breakdowns, no memorable characters, just pure chaos that is equivalent of a million migraines!
Story & Screenplay
Written by Vivek B Agrawal and Sudipto Sarkar, the title of the film Bhai Tera Star Hai has literally no relevance to the plot. And that is the most baffling aspect of the film that opens with a random dance number giving an impression that the protagonist Ajay (Raghav Juyal) is a budding actor (which he is in the film), but the same has no real significance in the context of the drama. Even the setting of London felt frivolous – added to the plot only to justify the theme of betting that kicks off the premise. And when there is no justification for anything, the proceedings become an instant disconnect!
The writing itself is confused on what it stands for, and I will try proving that to you – just keep pace with me. Ajay is asked by the pub owner and the betting baddie Fatty (Sanjay Kapoor) to repay his betting amount of ten thousand dollars within two hours. This forces the protagonist to lie to his sister Natasha (Parvathy Omanakuttan) that his girlfriend Roshni (Niharika NM) is pregnant, just so that her fake abortion could bring him money. Roshni in turn lies about her pregnancy to her bartender brother Sid (Vivaan Bhatena), who in turn goes about the streets of London with his flame Laila (Barkha Singh) to recover the amount. The link remains Natasha who is Sid’s ex-flame too, to complicate things.
The misfortunes and misadventures continue with its next set of characters – JD (Vikalp Mehta), Fatty’s employee who wishes to extract a small amount for himself by using the services of his girlfriend Chandni’s (Tina Desai) brother. There is an actor-turned-cop Hamid (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who acts as a mechanism to balloon the plot, more than the plot making in-roads for itself. The last hanging twist remains on how Fatty himself is in debt, while sharing a rocky relationship with his wife (Niki Walia), whose relationship connection lies with Chandni. Confused? I don’t blame you – because the screenplay is wafer-thin while being a complicated math formula, both at the same time.
The proceedings are lame, tonally deaf and extremely unfunny, so much so that every time I glanced at my watch, only a minute had passed. In the same breath, every minute felt like a passing birthday – tactfully incorporating the greys in my hair, even as my stomach hurt from being punched at, in order to make me laugh. And laugh is what I did, bitterly so at myself – for having to endure such pieces of slop week after week without any validation from anyone. Tell that to my braincells that were ferociously sliced off with the loudness of the drama, that was meant to be a comedy.
Tell you what, if this was a meta-story about a struggling actor – that actor would never have gotten another role again! And it is interesting on how every problem of the characters (who scream, shout, gasp, and get shot) miraculously solved itself at the end, all due to budget contraints (probably) – which also felt baffling. Why was this ridiculous film made in the first place? The whole amount could have been saved! All of this, while I managed to pull off a Deepak Kalal moment from the episode of India’s Got Latent by uttering the words – ‘Bas Kar B******’. Or even better that my Latent score to this ‘contestant’ would be 0 (and I am really being a gentleman like Balraj Ghai with my rating that you see at the top).
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are utterly despising given that they are not even remotely funny, whilst just being loud and irritating to the core. The music is forgettable and the placement of songs was ridiculous too – with one song playing at the start, and two songs playing out as a part of the rolling post credits scene. Spiderman is crying in the corner! In the same breath, even the dance choreography was pretty ordinary given that you had a phenomenal dancer like Raghav Juyal at their disposal.
The cinematography is over-ambitious and extremely gimmicky – often floating animated bubbles as thinking ploys for characters, or a timer that literally felt like a never-ending one, or gimmicky animated objects that try to add humour to the proceedings. It gave me an idea that the long takes and these gimmicks were employed deliberately with a motive to distract viewers from the wafer-thin plot that felt so pointless, that it had me driven with the anxiety of leaving the theatres safely.
The editing pattern felt tacky, particularly with the transitions that weren’t seamless despite giving an impression of a single long take transitioning into another. The cuts felt evident and not particularly pleasant to witness. Director Vivek B Agrawal (having previously director the Arjun Rampal starrer I See You (2006) two decades ago) fails on all accounts, trying to pull off a Priyadarshan style of chaotic comedy but completely coming apart with his craft. Neither does his world impress nor do his characters, in a compiled garb of mediocrity that had me annoyed. Sorry, I have nothing nice to say here – and go I shall move on!
Performances
The performances felt largely mediocre mostly due to the brief given to them that felt centered around loudness. Talented actors like Niki Walia and Tina Desai don’t have enough meat in their characters for them to shine. Chandan Roy Sanyal as Hamid isn’t handed out even one funny one-liner, and while he tries hard – the impact just isn’t there. Parvathy Omanakutty as Niharika has a strong screen presence, but again her performance remains largely forgettable. Naser Al Azzeh, Vineet ‘Beep’ Kumar and Dev Agrawal are pretty annoying with their respective acts.
The only two actors that briefly shine, and the key word remains ‘briefly’ – are Vivan Bhatena as Sid and Barkha Singh as Laila, both of whom are atleast restrained and not overtly committed to the chaos arounf them. Vikalp Mehta in his first major role outside his imposter-syndrome.of Akshay Kumar, as JD is highly raw as a performer, while not able to land bouts of laughter even once. Notice his hand in scenes after he is shot – it keeps shifting from his shoulder to his heart and to his sleeve, while at times completely forgetting about his injury.
Sanjay Kapoor as Fatty hams and hams through his character, even as my facial muscles exercized a moment of protest by not twitching even once. Niharika NM as Roshni was probably cast just for her follower count on instagram (no offence to that which she has rightly earned). And I say that with humility, given how her performance is just so flat. In other words, if she can actually act – I still don’t know that yet. Raghav Juyal as Ajay is loud, and largely unfunny while continuing to ham and ham and ham through his act. Tell you what – if this was his showreel, he would have been in trouble! He needs to be very careful with his choices going forwards. Slip ups like these cannot happen often!
Conclusion
Bhai Tera Star Hai is a recipe for a perennial migraine, delivering an unfunny, irritating drama that makes for a truly painful watch. Navigating its exhausting plot left me completely helpless, forcing me to channel Deepak Kalal’s infamous India’s Got Latent catchphrase – “Bas Kar B****”, just to cope with the onscreen absurdity. Ultimately, my gruelling experience with this film unintentionally mirrored the fundamental balancing principle of Thanos. Because I watched it on the exact same day as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this cinematic disaster served as the ultimate cosmic counterweight to a great movie, perfectly balancing the universe through sheer creative contrast. So long my martyred brain cells, you were brave! Available in a theatre near you!