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Tu Hai Meri Kiran Movie Review: Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal’s film is a strange sensory experience.
Tu Hai Meri Kiran Review: Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal deliver a strange film.
Tu Hai Meri KiranU/A
2/5
Starring: Sonakshi Sinha, Zaheer Iqbal, Ankit GuptaDirector: Karan Rawal
Tu Hai Meri Kiran Review: Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal’s film is out in theatres, perhaps a year too early. Unsettling for all the wrong reasons, Tu Hai Meri Kiran needed more time in the writing room, a new visual mood board, and someone on the technical crew who understands theatre acoustics.
Written and directed by Karan Rawal, the film follows Kiran (Sonakshi Sinha), a rich bestselling author who chances upon a mysterious phone in her new house. In an attempt to find its original owner, she discovers the phone is connected to the past with Samar (Zaheer Iqbal). Kiran is in 2026. Samar is in 2016.
Stumped for an idea for her next novel, Kiran befriends Samar and tells her everything about herself and the future. Samar, struggling to make a decent life for himself, uses this connection to earn money. However, Samar has a twisted mind, and he becomes increasingly obsessed with Kiran.
Samar falls in love with her because she laughs with him and listens to his opinions. He says this has “never happened” to him before. Meanwhile, Kiran is already married to Riyaan (Ankit Gupta), and her attempts to distance herself from Samar only intensify the situation, setting the stage for a psychological game: the past can change the future, and 2016 Samar can manipulate 2026 Kiran’s life, even making her 2016 self fall in love with him, using her help.
The premise has promise, and that’s the only good thing about the film. Tu Hai Meri Kiran sets a visually uncomfortable atmosphere right from the beginning. One may be tricked into thinking that it’s intentional, but I doubt it. The visual setting and cinematography for the 2026 world make it seem like an advertisement. How can Sonakshi’s face, the wall behind her and the sofa all have the same visual texture?
Sonakshi and Ankit have no chemistry on screen, making it hard to root for them as a couple. Ankit’s Riyaan is not given enough substance to make him a character one would care about. Instead, the “is he a cheater?” arc becomes distracting. The film doesn’t respect his love story with Kiran. Why would the audience?
The film also uses strange B-rolls and transition shots that give it a ‘college project’ feel. For instance, the transition from a nameplate to a computer screen is jarring, especially since neither serves any purpose in the scene. Thunder and a vibrating phone are the same volume, making it a confusing sensory experience. A 10-year catch-up call between Kiran and Zaheer is shown via a mimed conversation with background music. The sequence is so strange and long that it’s almost funny.
There are also loopholes aplenty. Kiran is a smart, capable woman who has led her father’s company alongside him for 10 years. Never once does it occur to her to look up Samar on the internet? How did the phone ring in the first place? How did 2026 Samar disappear so conveniently? How does the time loop operate in this fictional world?
Despite the subpar technical treatment and writing, the film manages to create some intrigue in the first half. However, the second half takes quite the unfortunate turn. Then comes the climax- a complete disservice to the film. Not indulging in spoilers, but this is where it is most obvious that the film needed more time in pre-production. It seems like the climax unfolded just for the sake of ending the film. While open endings create intrigue, it also matters how the story reached there.
Sonakshi, as Kiran, gives a half-hearted performance, especially in the more vulnerable scenes. She ends up looking too casual, making it an unconvincing performance. Even her dynamic with her best friend looks manufactured. Zaheer, as Samar, tries harder and almost nails the obsessive character. He ultimately succumbed to a half-baked script. Perhaps the film is too obsessed with itself, and as we learn, obsession can be blinding- it doesn’t do anyone any good.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Written and directed by Karan Rawal, the film follows Kiran (Sonakshi Sinha), a wealthy bestselling author in 2026 who finds a mysterious phone connected to Samar (Samar in 2016). As Kiran shares details about her future life and helps him, Samar grows increasingly obsessed and uses this time connection to manipulate her life.
Ask News18About the Author
Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentar…Read More
October 23, 2026, 09:42 IST
